In Situ Anodic Transition and Cathodic Contamination Affect the Overall Voltage of Alkaline Water Electrolysis
Zheng Liu,
Zhaoyu Liu,
Lingxing Zan,
Yu Sun,
Huizhen Han,
Zhe Li,
Han Wang,
Ting Cao,
Yao Zhu,
Haiyang Lv,
Yuxuan Liu,
Juzhe Liu,
Xin Bo
Affiliations
Zheng Liu
SEPA Key Laboratory of Eco-Industry, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
Zhaoyu Liu
Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Institute of New Concept Sensors and Molecular Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Lingxing Zan
Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering of Shaanxi Province, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yan’an University, Yan’an 716000, China
Yu Sun
Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Institute of New Concept Sensors and Molecular Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Huizhen Han
Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Institute of New Concept Sensors and Molecular Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Zhe Li
Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering of Shaanxi Province, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Yan’an University, Yan’an 716000, China
Han Wang
SEPA Key Laboratory of Eco-Industry, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
Ting Cao
SEPA Key Laboratory of Eco-Industry, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
Yao Zhu
SEPA Key Laboratory of Eco-Industry, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
Haiyang Lv
SEPA Key Laboratory of Eco-Industry, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
Yuxuan Liu
Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Juzhe Liu
Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Xin Bo
Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Institute of New Concept Sensors and Molecular Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
NiFe (oxy)hydroxide has been widely used as a benchmark anodic catalyst for oxygen evolution reactions (OERs) in alkaline water electrolysis devices; however, the energy saving actually takes contributions from both the anodic OER and cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, we observe the catalytic promotion upon the in situ-derived NiFe (oxy)hydroxide from the NiFe alloy monolithic electrode and also point out that the coupled nickel cathode is contaminated, leading to the loss of HER activity and a reduction in overall efficiency. It is found that Ni2+ and Fe3+ cations are inevitably detached from the anode into the electrolyte and electrodeposited on the nickel cathode after the three-month industrial simulation. This research presents the significant enhancement of the oxygen evolution catalysis using an in situ aging process and emphasizes that the catalytic application should not only be isolated on the half reaction, but a reasonable coupled electrode match to get rid of the contamination from the electrolyte is also of great significance to sufficiently present the intrinsic catalytic yielding for the real application.
