Corrosion-resistant non-noble metal electrodes for PEM-type water electrolyzer

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2021-11, Vol.46 (78), p.38603-38611
• Main Authors: Tajuddin, Aimi Asilah Haji, Elumalai, Ganesan, Xi, Zeyu, Hu, Kailong, Jeong, Samuel, Nagasawa, Kensaku, Fujita, Jun-ichi, Sone, Yoshitsugu, Ito, Yoshikazu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cathode; Electrocatalyst; Hydrogen generation; Non-noble metal; PEM-Type water electrolysis
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.09.116

Developing cheap and highly durable non-noble metal catalysts for water electrolysis to sustainably produce hydrogen as alternatives to platinum-based catalysts is essential. Herein, we report graphene-encapsulated NiMo alloys as acid-stable non-noble metal catalyst electrodes. The graphene-encapsulated NiMo cathode showed a highly stable performance in the potential cycling test (10,000 cycles) from 0 to 5.0 A cm−2 and 100 h of durability at a 2.2 V constant cell voltage. A balance between catalytic activity and corrosion in acidic environments was achieved by tuning the number of N-doped graphene layers. Through their application in a full-cell PEM-type water electrolyzer, we verify that noble metal catalysts can be replaced by non-noble metal catalysts. Such cheap acid-stable non-noble metal electrodes have promising practical applications in PEM-type water electrolysis. •Preparation of graphene-encapsulated NiMo cathode catalysts.•Performance validation of non-noble metal catalysts in PEM-type water electrolysis.•For replacement of conventional noble metal catalysts that are expensive.•Various applications involving acidic environments.