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Solidophobic Surface for Electrochemical Extraction of High-Valued Mg(OH)2 Coupled with H2 Production from Seawater
Li Yi1,2, Xu Chen1, Yingjie Wen1
1Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Related Technologies, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Advanced Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers Technology, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, Zhejiang, China.
Abstract:
A significant challenge in direct seawater electrolysis is the rapid deactivation of the cathode due to the large scaling of Mg(OH)2. Herein, we synthesized a Pt-coated highly disordered NiCu alloy (Pt-NiCu alloy) electrode with superior solidophobic behavior, enabling stable hydrogen generation (100 mA cm-2, >1000 h durability) and simultaneous production of Mg(OH)2 (>99.0% purity) in electrolyte enriched with Mg2+ and Ca2+. The unconventional solidophobic property primarily stems from the high surface energy of the NiCu alloy substrate, which facilitates the adsorption of surface water and thereby compels the bulk formation of Mg(OH)2 via homogeneous nucleation. The discovery of this solidophobic electrode will revolutionarily simplify the existing techniques for seawater electrolysis and increase the economic viability for seawater electrolysis.
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