Electrochemical and physical characterization of Ni-Cu-Fe alloy for chlor-alkali hydrogen cathodes

Abstract

This work describes the development of an alternative acetate bath for the electrochemicalcodeposition of Ni-Cu-Fe electrodes at low pH that is stable for several weeks and produces electrodeswith good performance for chlor-alkali electrolysis. Physical characterization of the electrode surfacewas made using X ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energydispersive analysis (EDX). The evaluation of the material as electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolutionreaction (her) was carried out in brine solution (160 g L -1 NaCl + 150 g L -1 NaOH) at different temperaturesthrough steady-state polarization curves. The Ni-Cu-Fe electrodes obtained with this bath have shownlow overpotentials for the her, around 0.150 V at 353 K, and good stability under continuous long-termoperation for 260 hours. One positive aspect of this cathode is that the polarization behavior of thematerial shows only one Tafel slope over the temperature range of 298 – 353 K.