Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2010, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (09): 2375-2380.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB20100847

• ELECTROCHEMISTRY • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Electrodeposition of Nanocrystalline Nickel Alloys and Their Hydrogen Evolution in Seawater

SONG Li-Jun, MENG Hui-Min   

  1. Corrosion and Protection Center, School of New Material Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
  • Received:2010-03-03 Revised:2010-04-29 Published:2010-09-02
  • Contact: MENG Hui-Min E-mail:ecm@mater.ustb.edu.cn

Abstract:

Ni, Ni-Fe, and Ni-Fe-C alloy electrodes were prepared by electrodeposition. Polarization curves showed that the Ni-Fe-C alloy electrode shows the best electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in a simulated seawater solution (0.5 mol·L-1NaCl, pH=12) at a temperature of 90 °C. The effect of morphology, composition and crystal structure on hydrogen evolution was studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).We found that the grain size of the electrodes affect their electrocatalytic activity for the HER. A smaller grain size benefits the catalytic performance. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicated that an increase in active sites and intrinsic electrocatalytic activity is important for a major increase in the electrode catalytic activity for the HER.

Key words: Electrodeposition, Catalytic activity, Hydrogen evolution reaction, Nanocrystalline nickel alloy