Synthesis and microstructure analysis of NiO catalysts coated on the FeCrAl metal alloy foam for hydrogen production

NiO catalysts were successfully coated onto FeCrAl metal alloy foam as a catalyst support via a dip-coating method. To demonstrate the optimum amount of NiO catalyst on the FeCrAl metal alloy foam, the molar concentration of the Ni precursor in a coating solution was controlled, with five different amounts of 0.4 M, 0.6 M, 0.8 M, 1.0 M, and 1.2 M for a dip-coating process. The structural, morphological, and chemical bonding properties of the NiO-catalyst-coated FeCrAl metal alloy foam samples were assessed by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy(SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction(XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). In particular, when the FeCrAl metal alloy foam samples were coated using a coating solution with a 0.8 M Ni precursor, welldispersed NiO catalysts on the FeCrAl metal alloy foam compared to the other samples were confirmed. Also, the XPS results exhibited the chemical bonding states of the NiO phases and the FeCrAl metal alloy foam. The results showed that a dip-coating method is one of best ways to coat well-dispersed NiO catalysts onto FeCrAl metal alloy foam.