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In Situ Sonoactivation of Polycrystalline Ni for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media
Faranak Foroughi1, Marina Tintor2, Alaa Y Faid3
1Hydrogen Energy and Sonochemistry Research Group, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim NO-7491, Norway.
Abstract:
In this investigation, we report on the development of a method for activating polycrystalline metallic nickel (Ni(poly)) surfaces toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in N2-saturated 1.0 M KOH aqueous electrolyte through continuous and pulsed ultrasonication (24 kHz, 44 ± 1.40 W, 60% acoustic amplitude, ultrasonic horn). It is found that ultrasonically activated Ni shows an improved HER activity with a much lower overpotential of -275 mV vs RHE at -10.0 mA cm-2 when compared to nonultrasonically activated Ni. It was observed that the ultrasonic pretreatment is a time-dependent process that gradually changes the oxidation state of Ni and longer ultrasonication times result in higher HER activity as compared to untreated Ni. This study highlights a straightforward strategy for activating nickel-based materials by ultrasonic treatment for the electrochemical water splitting reaction.
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