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N2 plasma-activated NiO nanosheet arrays with enhanced water splitting performance
K Naga Sathya Sai1, Yuanhao Tang1, Lin Dong2
1School of Material Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People's Republic of China.
Nanotechnology
|July 25, 2020
Summary
Nitrogen plasma activation enhances nickel oxide (NiO) electrocatalysts for efficient water splitting. This method improves both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions, enabling stable and effective overall water electrolysis.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Nickel oxide (NiO) is a cost-effective electrocatalyst for energy conversion.
- Bare NiO suffers from poor conductivity and limited active sites, hindering hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance.
- Developing strategies to enhance NiO's electrocatalytic activity is crucial for efficient water splitting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To improve the electrochemical performance of NiO for HER and OER.
- To develop a novel N2 plasma activation method for NiO.
- To investigate the application of activated NiO in overall water splitting.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized heterostructured Ni/Ni3N/NiO nanosheet arrays on Ni foam.
- Applied N2 plasma activation to modify the NiO nanostructures.
- Fabricated and tested electrodes for HER, OER, and overall water splitting.
Main Results:
- N2 plasma activation significantly enhanced the electrocatalytic activity of NiO for both HER and OER.
- Optimized plasma-activated NiO (P-NiO) achieved 10 mA cm-2 at low overpotentials (46 mV for HER, 294 mV for OER).
- An overall water splitting cell using P-NiO electrodes required only 1.57 V to reach 10 mA cm-2 with excellent 50-hour stability.
Conclusions:
- N2 plasma activation is an effective strategy to boost the electrocatalytic performance of NiO.
- The developed heterostructured Ni/Ni3N/NiO nanosheet arrays show great potential for efficient and stable water splitting.
- This approach offers a new pathway for designing advanced electrocatalysts for energy conversion applications.
