Marine anemone inspired cerium oxide doped nickel catalysts for enhanced seawater electrolysis efficiency

Seawater electrolysis offers a promising strategy for sustainable hydrogen production, yet inherent chloride ions (Cl^-) in seawater induce electrode corrosion, posing a major challenge to this process. Herein, we developed a novel biomimetic catalyst by doping Cerium Oxide (CeO₂) into a nickel-based system and depositing it on carbon cloth (CeO₂/Ni/CC) inspired by the tentacle architecture of marine anemones. This design endows the catalyst with abundant active sites and high specific surface area, thereby significantly enhancing its seawater electrolysis performance. Notably, the incorporation of CeO₂ effectively inhibit the adsorption of Cl^- and prevent the corrosion of the electrode. The optimized CeO₂/Ni/CC-2 catalyst exhibits outstanding OER activity and chloride corrosion resistance in both 1.0 M KOH and 0.6 M NaCl +1.0 M KOH electrolytes, achieving overpotentials of 214 mV and 220 mV at 10 mA cm^-2, respectively. Tafel slope analysis and Nyquist impedance measurements further confirm that CeO₂ doping substantially improves reaction kinetics and charge transfer efficiency. Moreover, computational investigations employing density functional theory formalism (DFT) uncover that CeO₂ incorporation induces a blue shift in the d-band center of Ni, which optimizes the adsorption energies of oxygenated intermediates and enhances the adsorption capacity for chloride ions. This study not only introduces a new strategy for designing robust catalysts for seawater electrolysis but also lays a theoretical foundation for advancing clean energy technologies.