Anodically Grown Binder-Free Nickel Hexacyanoferrate Film: Toward Efficient Water Reduction and Hexacyanoferrate Film Based Full Device for Overall Water Splitting

Hoa Thi Bui, Nabeen K. Shrestha, Shubhangi Khadtare, Chinna D. Bathula, Lars Giebeler, Yong Young Noh, Sung Hwan Han

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

57 Scopus citations

Abstract

One of the challenges in obtaining hydrogen economically by electrochemical water splitting is to identify and substitute cost-effective earth-abundant materials for the traditionally used precious-metal-based water-splitting electrocatalysts. Herein, we report the electrochemical formation of a thin film of nickel-based Prussian blue analogue hexacyanoferrate (Ni-HCF) through the anodization of a nickel substrate in ferricyanide electrolyte. As compared to the traditionally used Nafion-binder-based bulk film, the anodically obtained binder-free Ni-HCF film demonstrates superior performance in the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which is highly competitive with that shown by a Pt-plate electrode. The HER onset and the benchmark cathodic current density of 10 mA cm-2 were achieved at small overpotentials of 15 mV and 0.2 V (not iR-corrected), respectively, in 1 M KOH electrolyte, together with the long-term electrochemical durability of the film. Further, a metal-HCF-electrode-based full water-splitting device consisting of the binder-free Ni-HCF film on a Ni plate and a one-dimensional Co-HCF film on carbon paper as the electrodes for the HER and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively, was designed and was found to demonstrate very promising performance for overall water splitting.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)18015-18021
Number of pages7
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume9
Issue number21
DOIs
StatePublished - 31 May 2017

Keywords

  • anodic film
  • binder-free
  • electrocatalyst
  • hydrogen evolution
  • nickel hexacyanoferrate
  • Prussian blue analogue

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Anodically Grown Binder-Free Nickel Hexacyanoferrate Film: Toward Efficient Water Reduction and Hexacyanoferrate Film Based Full Device for Overall Water Splitting'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this