Ni-Zn electrodes for hydrogen production by acid electrolysis

Hydrogen production by electrolysis of water, have an important role in countries that have great renewable potential for electricity production. The electrolysis of water has been proposed to use the excess capacity of hydroelectric plants. However, to improve process efficiency, research has been undertaken to improve the catalytic reduction reaction of hydrogen from the development of electrodes with better performance. Thus, the selection of low cost electrode materials with good electrocatalytic activity is required. In this work, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) employing electrodes of Ni-Zn and Ni was investigated. Morphological characterization of the electrodes was performed using SEM/ EDX and profilometry and electrochemical behavior was evaluated by cathodic polarization curves. The results showed that the addition of Zn promotes the increase the electrocatalytic activity of HER compared to nickel electrode. (author)