Design and Preparation at Scale of Ternary NiFe-M-Ox (M=Co, Mo) Catalysts for OER in Alkaline Media

Due to scarcity of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) widely used in low temperature water electrolysis as cathodes (Hydrogen Evolution Reaction; HER) and anodes (Oxygen Evolution Reaction; OER) a boosting interest to their substitution to Earth abundant elements is observed. It was successfully demonstrated that elements like iron, nickel, cobalt and other (in their oxide and hydroxide forms) can be effective OER catalysts when operate at high pH ranges from 12 to 14 1-3. This work is devoted to systematic investigation of influence of third element addition to NiFeO x system on a performance and stability of catalysts in alkaline OER. As a co-catalytic elements Mo and Co were selected, based on our previous experience 4,5. A systematic study on an effect of NiFe-to-M ratio, concentration of precipitation agent and post-treatment temperature were evaluated in a wide range of parameters. Taking into account that mass loading of PGM-free OER catalysts is substantially higher than iridium/ruthenium once and can be up to several milligrams per cm 2 all experiments were designed to be scalable. In a laboratory scale reactor, a fascinating batch size of 25g was achieved, using minimal amount of water-based solvents in order to minimize a waste stream generated. Presentation will discuss characterization of obtained materials by SEM, TEM, XPS, XRD and other methods as well as their performance, stability and durability in alkaline conditions, studying Oxygen Evolution Reaction. Acknowledgements and Statements. The authors acknowledge financial support from H2NEW and ElectroCat consortia. References. 1 X. Lyu, J. Li, J. Yang, A. Serov "Significance of Slight Ambient Temperature Variation on the Electrocatalyst Performance toward Oxygen Evolution Reaction" Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (2023). 2 X. lyu, A. Serov “Cutting-edge methods for amplifying the oxygen evolution reaction during seawater electrolysis: a brief synopsis” Ind. Chem. Mater., (2023). 3 X. Lyu, Y. Bai, J. Li, R. Tao, J. Yang, A. Serov "Investigation of oxygen evolution reaction with 316 and 304 stainless-steel mesh electrodes in natural seawater electrolysis" J. of Environmental Chemical Engineering 11 (2023) 109667. 4 A. Serov , N. I. Andersen, A. J. Roy, I. Matanovic, K. Artyushkova, P. Atanassov “CuCo 2 O 4 ORR/OER Bi-Functional Catalyst: Influence of Synthetic Approach on Performance”, J. of The Electrochem. Soc. 162 (4) (2015) F449-F454. 5 N. I. Andersen, A. Serov, P. Atanassov “Metal Oxides/CNT Nano-Composite Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction/Oxygen Evolution in Alkaline Media”, Appl. Catal. B: Environmental 163 (2015) 623-627.