Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis Based on Nickel Ferrite Catalysts

Abstract

Abstract A nickel ferrite was prepared by a liquid‐phase method and used as an oxygen evolution catalyst in an anion exchange membrane electrolyser. A complete physicochemical characterization of the catalyst was performed through X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Then, the nickel ferrite was deposited by spray coating technique onto a Fumasep® FAA3‐50 anion‐exchange membrane to realize a catalyst‐coated membrane (CCM), and tested in a 5 cm2 single cell setup in the so‐called zero‐gap configuration. At 60 °C and 2.2 V, a current density of 3 A/cm2 was reached, which is higher than that obtained with NiO and IrO2 commercial catalysts. Moreover, a chronoamperometric test of 120 h highlighted the good stability of the synthesized catalyst.

Keywords

• nickel ferrite catalysts
• anionic exchange membrane
• electrolyser
• oxygen evolution reaction
• hydrogen production