Investigation of Ni Foam and Stainless-Steel Mesh Substrates Toward Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Seawater Electrolysis

Abstract

Electrolysis of alkaline seawater is a promising approach for the large-scale production of hydrogen, however, little effort has been devoted in studying the substrates for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. Stainless-steel mesh (SS mesh) and Ni foam were investigated systematically for OER in alkaline seawater electrolysis in this study. The overpotentials and Tafel slopes with SS meshes are smaller than Ni foams. Interestingly, the performance of the SS mesh even outperforms various non-noble metal electrocatalysts and is comparable to commercial RuO2 and IrO2 catalysts. Additionally, the Ni foam exhibits much poorer resistance to corrosion compared with SS meshes. This work suggests inexpensive and commercially available SS mesh is an outstanding substrate for OER in alkaline seawater electrolysis.