摘要
In past decades,Ni-based catalytic materials and electrodes have been intensively explored as low-cost hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER)catalysts for water splitting.With increasing demands for Ni worldwide,simplifying the fabrication process,increasing Ni recycling,and reducing waste are tangible sustainability goals.Here,binder-free,heteroatom-free,and recyclable Ni-based bifunctional catalytic electrodes were fabricated via a one-step quick electrodeposition method.Typically,active Ni nanodot(NiND)clusters are electrodeposited on Ni foam(NF)in Ni(NO3)2 acetonitrile solution.After drying in air,NiO/NiND composites are obtained,leading to a binder-free and heteroatom-free NiO/NiNDs@NF catalytic electrode.The electrode shows high efficiency and long-term stability for catalyzing hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions at low overpotentials(10ηHER= 119 mV and 50ηOER=360 mV)and can promote water catalysis at 1.70 V@ 10mA cm-2.More importantly,the recovery of raw materials(NF and Ni(NO3)2)is quite easy because of the solubility of NiO/NiNDs composites in acid solution for recycling the electrodes.Additionally,a large-sized(S^70 cm2)NiO/NiNDs@NF catalytic electrode with high durability has also been constructed.This method provides a simple and fast technology to construct high-performance,low-cost,and environmentally friendly Ni-based bifunctional electrocatalytic electrodes for water splitting.
In past decades,Ni-based catalytic materials and electrodes have been intensively explored as low-cost hydrogen evolution reaction（HER）and oxygen evolution reaction（OER）catalysts for water splitting.With increasing demands for Ni worldwide,simplifying the fabrication process,increasing Ni recycling,and reducing waste are tangible sustainability goals.Here,binder-free,heteroatom-free,and recyclable Ni-based bifunctional catalytic electrodes were fabricated via a one-step quick electrodeposition method.Typically,active Ni nanodot（NiND）clusters are electrodeposited on Ni foam（NF）in Ni（NO3）2 acetonitrile solution.After drying in air,NiO/NiND composites are obtained,leading to a binder-free and heteroatom-free NiO/NiNDs@NF catalytic electrode.The electrode shows high efficiency and long-term stability for catalyzing hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions at low overpotentials(10ηHER= 119 mV and 50ηOER=360 mV)and can promote water catalysis at 1.70 V@ 10mA cm-2.More importantly,the recovery of raw materials（NF and Ni（NO3）2）is quite easy because of the solubility of NiO/NiNDs composites in acid solution for recycling the electrodes.Additionally,a large-sized（S～70 cm2）NiO/NiNDs@NF catalytic electrode with high durability has also been constructed.This method provides a simple and fast technology to construct high-performance,low-cost,and environmentally friendly Ni-based bifunctional electrocatalytic electrodes for water splitting.
基金
the China and Germany Postdoctoral Exchange Program for this research in Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2017M610324)
NSFC (21704040)
