| Title |
Performance Trade-Off in Nickel-Based Hydrogen Evolution Catalysts for Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis: Effects of the Nickel Oxidation State and Particle Size |
| Authors |
이재훈(Jaehun Lee); 김남인(Nam In Kim); 진송(Song Jin); 박준영(Junyoung Park); 하준석(Jun Seok Ha); 김치호(Chiho Kim); 이주영(Jooyoung Lee); 김양도(Yangdo Kim); 최승목(Sung Mook Choi) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.3365/KJMM.2025.63.2.161 |
| ISSN |
1738-8228(ISSN), 2288-8241(eISSN) |
| Keywords |
Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis; Hydrogen evolution reaction; Hydrogen production; Ni electrocatalyst; Non-precious catalyst |
| Abstract |
The development of green hydrogen through anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) is essential for achieving carbon neutrality. Developing non-precious-metal catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for the commercialization of AEMWE. In this study, Ni-CeO₂/ C catalysts were synthesized via a co-precipitation method and a reduction heat treatment was conducted from 300 to 500 ℃ to form metallic Ni for the HER. Through this process, CeO₂ nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed around Ni metal nanoparticles. Among these catalysts, Ni-CeO₂/C 400 exhibited a prominent Ni0 peak according to an XPS analysis and formed smaller nanoparticles compared to Ni-CeO₂/C 500, yielding advantageous physicochemical properties for the HER. Subsequently, an electrochemical half-cell LSV analysis demonstrated the lowest HER overpotential of 164 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and a Tafel slope of 89 mV dec-1, suggesting the formation of a trade-off point in the HER performance due to variations in the oxidation state and particle size of the Ni metal. Furthermore, a non-precious-metal-based AEMWE single cell with Ni- CeO₂/C 400 as the cathode and Co3O4 as the anode achieved a current density of approximately 700 mA cm-2 at 2.0 Vcell. It also exhibited stable durability at a constant current of 500 mA cm-2 for 100 hours, suggesting the potential for long-term hydrogen production in non-precious-metal-based AEMWE systems.(Received 14 November, 2024; Accepted 16 December, 2024) |