Fabrication of Graphene Oxide-Decorated Mesoporous NiFe₂O₄ as an Electrocatalyst in the Hydrogen Gas Evolution Reaction

Abstract

An electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction has been successfully synthesized from graphene oxide (GO) decorated with the mesoporous NiFe2O4. A high catalytic activity performance was reached by using the GCE surface as a conductor, and the synthesized composite contained GO/NiFe2O4. Based on the results, the as-prepared electrocatalyst exhibited a high overpotential for the HER reaction of 36 mV vs. RHE at a 10 mA current density, with an electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) of 3.18 × 10−4 cm2. Additionally, the electrocatalyst demonstrated a considerably good performance after the 9000 s stability test. It is believed that such an enhancement in electrocatalytic activity was due to the synergistic effect between the unique porosity feature of the mesoporous NiFe2O4, which may provide a more active surface, and the high conductivity of the GO.

Keywords

• hydrogen evolution reaction
• electrocatalyst
• mesoporous NiFe₂O₄
• graphene oxide
• composite
• renewable energy