Dual-Modification Engineering of CoNi Alloy Realizing Robust Performance for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Abstract

Anion modification and trace metal doping have been widely demonstrated to have unique advantages in regulating both electrocatalytic activity and the electronic structure of non-precious metal materials. Developing a simple and practical preparation strategy is critical, but it still faces challenges. In this paper, a novel type of dual-modification approach is put forward to rationally design the S, Pt-CoNi material, which can be grown directly on the nickel foam (NF) in a one-step electrodeposition process. The multiple advantages of having plenty of active sites, high conductivity, and a faster charge transfer endow the optimized reaction kinetic for HER. The prepared S, Pt-CoNi/NF catalyst displays excellent catalytic performance, and a low overpotential of 116 mV at 50 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 75 mV dec−1 are achieved. The coupled S, Pt-CoNi/NF||FeOOH/NF electrolyzer delivers a high current density of 100 mA cm−2 at the potential of 1.61 V as well as superior stability under alkaline conditions. Our work experimentally confirms the feasibility of constructing a dual-regulation strategy via one-step electrodeposition, and it also provides ideas for the controllable design of other high-performance electrodes for electrocatalysis.

Keywords

• dual-modification
• CoNi alloy
• electrodeposition
• electrocatalytic hydrogen production
• alkaline medium