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Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
Ion sieving membrane for direct seawater anti-precipitation hydrogen evolution reaction electrode
Qianfeng Liu1, Zhao Yan1, Jianxin Gao1
1Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Dalian 116023 China edwang@dicp.ac.cn.
Abstract:
In seawater, severe hydroxide-based precipitation on the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrode surface is still a major stumbling block for direct seawater electrolysis. Here, we design a direct seawater HER electrode with excellent anti-precipitation performance based on an Ni(OH)2 nanofiltration membrane in situ grown on nickel foam (NF) at room temperature. The positively charged Ni(OH)2 membrane with nanometer-scale cracks realises an ion sieving function, which apparently hinders the transfer of Mg2+/Ca2+ ions to suppress precipitation, while rapidly transporting OH- and H2O to ensure HER mass transfer. Therefore, the Ni(OH)2-membrane-decorated seawater HER electrode reduces precipitation by about 98.3% and exhibits high activity and stability. Moreover, in the application of a direct seawater electrolyser and magnesium seawater battery, the Ni(OH)2 membrane-decorated electrode also shows low precipitation and high stability. This work highlights a potential strategy to solve HER electrode precipitation in seawater via an ingenious electrode structure design.
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