Publication date: 21st July 2025
Electrodeposition is a versatile and cost-effective technique for designing advanced electrocatalysts for water electrolysis, particularly for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. This technique allows for precise control over the composition, morphology, and thickness of the catalytic films, enabling the fabrication of nanostructured surfaces that exhibit high activity with long-term durability. This method is scalable and compatible with diverse conductive substrates, making it ideal for integrated electrode development. It also enables the synthesis of complex materials such as alloys and doped compounds, which are essential for optimizing catalytic performance.
NiFe-based materials have demonstrated exceptional outstanding performance promise as electrocatalysts for OER in alkaline water splitting. Their synergistic electronic interactions and favorable adsorption energies contribute to high conductivity, enhanced stability, and remarkable overpotentials. While electrodeposition of NiFe-based materials on Ni foam shows promising results, the optimization of deposition parameters such as current density, pH, and temperature is critical to maximize catalytic efficiency.
In this work, NiFe-based electrocatalysts were studied via electrodeposition, under systematically varied conditions. The optimized electrodes exhibited overpotentials that in some cases, outperformed state-of-the-art NiFe catalysts. Furthermore, advanced characterization techniques such as X-Ray microtomography (also known as XRM or micro-CT), were employed to visualize and correlate nanoscale electrodeposition features with electrochemical performance.
This work was funded by the AEMH2 project (CPP-23-0006-3), cofunded by the Regional Government (Junta) of Extremadura and the European Union. INVESTIGACIÓN INTERDISCIPLINAR DE MATERIALES Y SISTEMAS A PEQUEÑA ESCALA PARA PRODUCIR HIDRÓGENO VERDE CON TECNOLOGÍA AEM, and the European Union's Next Generation funds, coordinated at the Spanish level by the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan.