Department of Chemistry, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea.
Nanoscale. 2017 Aug 31;9(34):12231-12247. doi: 10.1039/c7nr04187j.
Highly efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts are essential for water spitting via electrolysis in an economically viable fashion. However, the best catalytic performance is found with noble metal-based electrocatalysts, which presents a formidable obstacle for the commercial success of electrolytic water splitting-based H production due to their relatively high cost and scarcity. Therefore, the development of alternative inexpensive earth-abundant electrode materials with excellent electrocatalytic properties is of great urgency. In general, efficient electrocatalysts must possess several key characteristics such as low overpotential, good electrocatalytic activity, high stability, and low production costs. Direct synthesis of nanostructured catalysts on a conducting substrate may potentially improve the performance of the resultant electrocatalysts because of their high catalytic surface areas and the synergistic effect between the electrocatalyst and the conductive substrate. In this regard, three dimensional (3D) nickel foams have been advantageously utilized as electrode substrates as they offer a large active surface area and a highly conductive continuous porous 3D network. In this review, we discuss the most recent developments in nanostructured materials directly synthesized on 3D nickel foam as potential electrode candidates for electrochemical water electrolysis, namely, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). We also provide perspectives and outlooks for catalysts grown directly on 3D conducting substrates for future sustainable energy technologies.
高效且低成本的电催化剂对于以经济可行的方式通过电解水析氢至关重要。然而，基于贵金属的电催化剂具有最佳的催化性能，但由于其相对较高的成本和稀缺性，这对电解水析氢制氢的商业成功构成了巨大的障碍。因此，开发具有优异电催化性能的替代廉价丰富的地球电极材料迫在眉睫。通常，高效电催化剂必须具有几个关键特征，如低过电势、良好的电催化活性、高稳定性和低成本。在导电基底上直接合成纳米结构催化剂可能会由于其高催化表面积和电催化剂与导电基底之间的协同作用而提高所得电催化剂的性能。在这方面，三维（3D）泡沫镍已被有利地用作电极基底，因为它们提供了大的活性表面积和高度导电的连续多孔 3D 网络。在本文中，我们讨论了直接在 3D 泡沫镍上合成的纳米结构材料在电化学水电解中作为潜在电极候选材料的最新进展，即析氧反应（OER）和析氢反应（HER）。我们还为直接在 3D 导电基底上生长的催化剂提供了用于未来可持续能源技术的观点和展望。
