Ramírez-Meneses E., Domiguez-Crespo M.A., Dorantes-Rosales H., Torres-Huerta A.M., Montiel-Palma V., Hernández-Tapia G.
Cicata - IPN Unidad Altamira, MX
Keywords: hydrogen evolution reaction, nanoparticles, nickel, organometallic
Nickel exhibits a high initial electrocatalytic activity toward the HER. Enhancement of cathodic activity of nickel for electrolytic hydrogen evolution has been carried out by the formation of nanostructured nickel materials. In this respect, the interest in this area has evidenced the need for the control of the particles monodispersity, size, shape, organization and the nature of the chemical species present at their surface. In this context, the use of an organometallic precursor, able to decompose in mild conditions in the presence of a reducing gas has appeared as a valuable method of synthesis of these species. In this work, we investigated the synthesis of nickel nanoparticles starting from Ni(COD)2 (COD=cycloocta-1,5-diene) and decomposed under H2 atmosphere in THF in presence of 1,3-diaminopropane as stabilizer. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) studies revealed the formation of sponge-like particles resulting from the agglomeration of initially obtained nanocrystallites. The activity of the dispersed catalysts composed of Ni/C with respect to the HER was investigated using steady state polarization measurements. The performance with respect to the HER of the Ni/C catalyst on vulcan carbon substrate is active and comparable to that reported in the literature for the state-of-art electrocatalysts.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 1, Nanotechnology 2008: Materials, Fabrication, Particles, and Characterization – Technical Proceedings of the 2008 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 1
Published: June 1, 2008
Pages: 981 - 984
Industry sector: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Topic: Materials Characterization & Imaging
ISBN: 978-1-4200-8503-7