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Highly Active Nickel–Iron Nanoparticles With and Without Ceria for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

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Abstract

Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) is an attractive technology for hydrogen (H2) production. This process, however, is kinetically hindered by the oxygen evolution half-cell reaction (OER). Nickel (Ni)-based materials in combination with iron (Fe) have been considered a promising option to enhance activity toward OER in alkaline media. Studies have also shown that incorporating ceria (CeO2) into electrocatalysts can help promote the OER. This study investigates the OER activity of bimetallic Ni–Fe spherical nanoparticles, with and without ceria, synthesized by chemical reduction in ethanol using sodium borohydride. First, the iron content is studied for Ni100−xFex / 50 wt% CeO2 (x = 0, 5, 10, 20, 40 at%); then, the ceria content is studied for the best two iron compositions, namely, Ni80Fe20 / y wt% CeO2 and Ni90Fe10 / y wt%CeO2 (y = 0, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 50 wt%). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) characterization show spherical particles 4–6 nm in size, where Ni and Fe are co-distributed, and ceria is separately agglomerated. Electrochemical characterization in 1 M KOH shows that at 10 mA cm−2, the Ni80Fe20 catalyst achieved the lowest overpotential for OER of 269 mV, which is better performing than the iridium black benchmark, as well as similar NiFe materials reported in literature. Stability testing indicates that the Ni90Fe10 catalyst is the most stable material with almost no change in overpotential over 12 h at 10 mA cm−2. This study shows that the addition of CeO2 to the catalysts does not significantly improve or impede OER activity.

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Funding

This research was conducted as part of the Engineered Nickel Catalysts for Electrochemical Clean Energy project administered from Queen’s University and supported by grant number RGPNM 477963–2015 under the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Frontiers Program. Additional funding was also provided by NSERC’s Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship — Doctoral (CGS D).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Centre for Catalysis Research and Innovation (CCRI), University of Ottawa, 161 Louis-Pasteur, Ottawa, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Emily Cossar, Kushagra Agarwal, Vu Bao Nguyen & Elena A. Baranova

  2. Department of Materials Science Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada

    Reza Safari & Gianluigi A. Botton

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  1. Emily Cossar
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  2. Kushagra Agarwal
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  3. Vu Bao Nguyen
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Correspondence to Elena A. Baranova.

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Cossar, E., Agarwal, K., Nguyen, V.B. et al. Highly Active Nickel–Iron Nanoparticles With and Without Ceria for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction. Electrocatalysis 12, 605–618 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12678-021-00674-7

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