Synthesis of Ni-foam supported bifunctional electrocatalyst based on transition metals for electrochemical water splitting

Faiza Wahad¹, Aqsa Nazeer¹, Muhammad Altaf¹, Raja Shahid Ashraf¹

¹Institute of Chemical Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Government College University, Lahore-Pakistan 54000

Introduction

In modern economies, energy security is a serious concern. Increased depletion rates of fossil fuels, as well as rising greenhouse gas emissions associated with the combustion of fossil fuels, and anthropogenic activities, have urged humanity to realign on primary energy sources.¹ The ultimate goal is carbon neutrality, which could be achieved by developing energy-efficient transition technologies that reduce carbon footprints.² The emerging technology for the production of green hydrogen is electrochemical water splitting, which is anticipated to be a cheap fuel source in years to come. Continuous efforts have been made to replace Pt-based electrocatalysts with transition metal and chalcogenides-based electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER).³ Transition metal (Nickel and Iron) based electrocatalysts have gained immense attention due to metals' natural abundance, lower cost, and efficient water-splitting activities.^4-7 Herein, Ni and Fe-based electrocatalysts supported over nickel foam were synthesized by simple and efficient methods, as bi-functional electrocatalysts for complete water electrolysis in alkaline medium.