Magnetically Induced Electrodeposition of Ni-Mo Alloy for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

The electrocatalytic activity of Ni-Mo alloy coatings for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was tried to increase by inducing the magnetic field (B), perpendicular to the process of deposition. The electrocatalytic activity of Ni-Mo alloys were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronopotentiometry (CP) measurements in 1.0 M KOH medium. Ni-Mo alloy coatings developed at c.d. = 1.0 A dm−2 and B = 0.4 T was found to exhibit highest electrocatalytic activity for HER (with highest cathodic peak c.d. of −0.274 A cm−2 and least onset potential of −1.24 V and highest volume of H2 liberated, 14.0 mL), demonstrated by CV and CP experiments. The stability factor of Ni-Mo alloy coatings were evaluated through corrosion study. The experimental results showed that Ni-Mo alloy, electrodeposited in the presence of B, is more corrosion resistant than its conventional alloy, when tested in the same alkaline medium. The increase in the electrocatalytic activity of Ni-Mo alloy coatings, developed under induced B, is attributed to the structural and morphological changes, caused by an increase of Ni content in the alloy, evident from X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses.