Single‐Step and Sustainable Fabrication of Ni(OH)2/Ni Foam Water Splitting Catalysts via Electric Field Assisted Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid

Abstract

AbstractThe prevailing barrier to produce hydrogen from water splitting is disappointingly sluggish kinetics. Furthermore, a lack of understanding of the key obstacle in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), is an obstruction to the design of efficient water‐splitting electrocatalysts. Here, we present the single‐step and fast fabrication of ready‐made Ni(OH)2/nickel foam (NF) electrocatalysts for overall water splitting by using the environmentally friendly and sustainable approach of electric‐field‐assisted pulsed laser ablation in liquid for the generation of nanoparticles (NPs) and the simultaneous electrodeposition of the NPs on the NF substrate. The as‐fabricated electrocatalyst is found to be highly efficient and stable in alkaline medium for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and OER kinetics with remarkably low overpotentials of 187 mV (vs. RHE for HER) and 166 mV (vs. RHE for OER) to reach a current density of 20 mA cm−2, with HER and OER Tafel slopes of 82 and 69 mV dec−1, respectively. The two‐electrode electrochemical cell made of the bifunctional Ni(OH)2/NF electrocatalyst requires an overpotential as low as 168 mV to drive a 10 mA/cm2 current density over a long period. These results reveal the long‐term stability and activity of the Ni(OH)2)/NF electrocatalyst towards overall water (OW) splitting. The developed sustainable approach of electrocatalyst fabrication can be extended to a range of materials, beyond Ni(OH)2/NF, to boost a range of chemical reactions, beyond water splitting.