Potentiostatic electrodeposition of self-supported Ni S electrocatalyst supported on Ni foam for efficient hydrogen evolution
Yihui Wu, Jiqiong Lian, Yuxin Wang, Jingjing Sun, Zhen He, Zhenjian Gu
Abstract
The commercial production of H2 from water splitting requires highly efficient, low-cost, and stable earth-abundant electrocatalysts to speed up the kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this study, we proposed a concise and effective strategy for fabricating NiS electrocatalysts on Ni foam (NF) substrate to serve as HER electrocatalysts during potentiostatic electrodeposition. The NiS electrocatalyst shows a cauliflower-like surface morphology when the electrodeposition voltage is adjusted. The proposed electrocatalyst exhibits excellent HER performance with a low overpotential of 58 mV at 10 mA·cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 81.6 mV·dec−1 in 1.0 M KOH solution. Such a high performance can be attributed to the amorphous phase structures, high conductivity, composition optimization, and the close combination between the electrocatalyst and NF. This study provides a facile, fast, and feasible avenue for developing highly efficient and affordable electrochemical catalysts for HER.