Oxygen Evolution Reaction with ZrCo and ZrNi Electrode Materials

Abstract

Investigation of the intermetallic compounds as anode materials for water electrolysis helps to solve a lot of issues, which electrocatalysis and solid state chemistry communities face nowadays. Intermetallic compounds possess unique properties in terms of their crystal structure, electronic properties and chemical bonding, allowing the knowledge-based route for electrocatalyst development. Furthermore, usage of the single-phase anode material is a way to exclude the influence of interface as well as nature and stability issues of the support. At the same time, studies of the intermetallic compounds under the reaction conditions shed light onto the chemical properties of the intermetallic compounds, which are scarcely described in literature and of particular importance for solid state chemistry field.In this study, binary intermetallic compounds ZrCo and ZrNi were studied as anode materials for alkaline water electrolysis. The successful synthesis of single-phase samples of both compounds was followed by manufacturing of the cylindrically-shaped electrodes using spark plasma sintering technique. The assessment of the electrocatalytic performance was carried out in three-electrode cell, applying different measurement protocols, giving the information about OER activity of studied materials, its stability over time as well as other electrochemical features, giving the information about the processes occurring on the electrode surfaces. To monitor the material changes under conditions of OER, the electrodes were comprehensively characterized before and after the electrochemical experiments using bulk- and surface-sensitive techniques. Combined data was discussed and compared with state-of-the-art OER electrocatalysts for alkaline media.