From Water and Ni Foam to a Ni(OH)2 @Ni Foam Binder-Free Supercapacitor Electrode: A Green Corrosion Route

Cobalt phosphide nanoarrays on a borate-modified nickel foam substrate as an efficient dual-electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

Developing efficient non-noble metal dual-functional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting is essential for the production of green hydrogen. Given the significant advantages of self-supporting electrodes, regulating the growth of self-supporting nanoarrays on a conductive substrate is conducive to improving the electrocatalytic activity. In this work, aligned cobalt phosphide (CoP) nanowire arrays grown on borate-modified Ni foam substrate (CoP/R-NF) were utilized as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for both hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER) in alkaline solution. The borate interfacial layer regulated the growth behavior of CoP nanowires, promoting a tip-enhanced electric field effect, facilitating an enhanced bimetallic synergistic effect. The CoP/R-NF electrode showed substantial catalytic activity for HER (η10 = 35 mV, 70 mV dec-1) and OER (241 mV, 32 mV dec-1). Moreover, a low cell voltage of 1.50 V to drive 10 mA cm-2 current density for overall water-splitting was achieved in an alkaline water electrolyzer, with long-term durability of 200 h at 100 mA cm-2, indicating the potential application of CoP/R-NF as a bifunctional catalyst for clean and renewable energy utilization. Such a synthetic strategy could pave the way for the development of non-noble bifunctional electrocatalysts for comprehensive water splitting.

Water activating fresh NiMo foam for enhanced urea electrolysis

Recently, production of hydrogen (H2) through the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has acquired great attention because it is more environmentally friendly and energy-saving. Herein, an approach of water activation was developed for in situ growth of NiMo LDH nanosheet arrays on NiMo foam without using any binder or pressurizing or heating steps. The obtained NiMo foam electrodes showed exceptional catalytic activity and durability for both the UOR and HER. This work offers a new standpoint on designing electrodes with high activation for efficient and sustainable hydrogen production coupled with urea organic oxidation.

Template-Free Preparation of α-Ni(OH)2 Nanosphere as High-Performance Electrode Material for Advanced Supercapacitor

Although it is one of the promising candidates for pseudocapacitance materials, Ni(OH)₂ is confronted with poor specific capacitance and inferior cycling stability. The design and construction of three-dimensional (3D) nanosphere structures turns out to be a valid strategy to combat these disadvantages and has attracted tremendous attention. In this paper, a 3D α-Ni(OH)₂ nanosphere is prepared via a facile and template-free dynamic refluxing approach. Significantly, the α-Ni(OH)₂ nanosphere possesses a high specific surface area (119.4 m²/g) and an abundant porous structure. In addition, the as-obtained α-Ni(OH)₂ electrodes are investigated by electrochemical measurements, which exhibit a high specific capacitance of 1243 F/g at 1 A/g in 6 M KOH electrolyte and an acceptable capacitive retention of 40.0% after 1500 charge/discharge cycles at 10 A/g, which can be attributed to the sphere’s unique nanostructure. Furthermore, the as-assembled Ni(OH)₂-36//AC asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) yields a remarkable energy density of 26.50 Wh/kg, with a power density of 0.82 kW/kg. Notably, two ASCs in series can light a 2.5 V red lamp sustainably for more than 60 min, as well as power an LED band with a rated power of 25 W. Hence, this 3D α-Ni(OH)₂ nanosphere may raise great potential applications for next-generation energy storage devices.

A Ni(OH)2 nanopetals network for high-performance supercapacitors synthesized by immersing Ni nanofoam in water

Developing a facile and environmentally friendly approach to the synthesis of nanostructured Ni(OH)₂ electrodes for high-performance supercapacitor applications is a great challenge. In this work, we report an extremely simple route to prepare a Ni(OH)₂ nanopetals network by immersing Ni nanofoam in water. A binder-free composite electrode, consisting of Ni(OH)₂ nanopetals network, Ni nanofoam interlayer and Ni-based metallic glass matrix (Ni(OH)₂/Ni-NF/MG) with sandwich structure and good flexibility, was designed and finally achieved. Microstructure and morphology of the Ni(OH)₂ nanopetals were characterized. It is found that the Ni(OH)₂ nanopetals interweave with each other and grow vertically on the surface of Ni nanofoam to form an "ion reservoir", which facilitates the ion diffusion in the electrode reaction. Electrochemical measurements show that the Ni(OH)₂/Ni-NF/MG electrode, after immersion in water for seven days, reveals a high volumetric capacitance of 966.4 F/cm³ at a current density of 0.5 A/cm³. The electrode immersed for five days exhibits an excellent cycling stability (83.7% of the initial capacity after 3000 cycles at a current density of 1 A/cm³). Furthermore, symmetric supercapacitor (SC) devices were assembled using ribbons immersed for seven days and showed a maximum volumetric energy density of ca. 32.7 mWh/cm³ at a power density of 0.8 W/cm³, and of 13.7 mWh/cm³ when the power density was increased to 2 W/cm³. The fully charged SC devices could light up a red LED. The work provides a new idea for the synthesis of nanostructured Ni(OH)₂ by a simple approach and ultra-low cost, which largely extends the prospect of commercial application in flexible or wearable devices.