(745d) Iron-Nickel Alloy Films for Neutral Electrolyte Electrochemical Reactions

Increasing global energy demand and environmental concerns have pushed towards the development of alternative energy conversion and storage systems. Hydrogen is viewed as an ideal alternative fuel source which can be produced through the coupling of renewable energy (e.g., wind, solar) to processes such as electrochemically-driven water electrolysis. The majority of commercial water electrolyzers currently operate in acidic or alkaline environment. However, the most abundant source of water is seawater. Traditional catalysts require seawater to be desalinated, an energy-intensive process that increases the cost for hydrogen production. Thus, hydrogen production in neutral conditions presents its self as a viable substitute. However, electrochemical hydrogen production in neutral electrolyte suffers from slow kinetics compared to alkaline and acidic electrolyte.

This work is centered on the development of (FeNi) alloy films for their application as electrocatalysts for hydrogen production in a neutral electrolyte. Herein, we present the synthesis, characterization, and electrocatalytic evaluation of (FeNi) alloy films. Alloy films were synthesized through electrochemical deposition. Further energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), inductively coupled plasma – mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to determine the chemical composition and surface chemistry of the as-synthesized films. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) were performed on the (FeNi) alloy films to evaluated their catalytic performance for hydrogen production. Through electrochemical evaluation, the optimum candidates for hydrogen evolution in a neutral environment were identified.