Nickel selenide supported on nickel foam as an efficient and durable non-precious electrocatalyst for the alkaline water electrolysis

Abstract

Herein, we describe an in-situ hybridization of Nickel Selenide (Ni3Se2) with a Nickel Foam (NF) current collector as an efficient, ultra-durable electrode for the continuous alkaline water electrolysis. Earth abundant, cost effective, non-precious self-made Ni3Se2/NF electrode delivers an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotential value of 315mV at a current density of 100mAcm−2 (versus a reversible hydrogen electrode) in aqueous electrolyte of 1M KOH. On a static current density of 100mAcm−2, Ni3Se2/NF electrode shows a good OER stability over 285h with very small potential loss of 5.5% in alkaline electrolyte. Accordingly, the alkaline water electrolyzer constructed with Ni3Se2/NF (anode) and NiCo2S4/NF (cathode), it requires 1.58V to deliver 10mAcm−2 current density, with 500h continuous operation in 1M KOH. In addition, we demonstrate that the light-driven water splitting using solar panel, it can be a promising approach to facilitate true independence from electricity in H2 fuel economy. Overall, this methodology is one of the appropriate energy efficient ways to reduce the cost of water splitting devices, as it may simplify the diverse process and equipment.