Electrochemical performance of catalyst couples M/stainless steel 430 (M: Ni, Co, and Cu) for the hydrogen production in KOH electrolyte

In this work, three catalysts (nickel, cobalt, copper) are electrochemically deposited on stainless steel substrates AISI 430 and their performances as cathodes in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are investigated. The electrodes, characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), have been the subject of a study of their electrocatalytic efficiency in KOH (1 M) solution at 298 K through HER, stability, polarization curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the developed electrodes have a catalytic activity superior to that of untreated stainless steel AISI 430. The nickel coating exhibits the best HER performance. In addition, the rough Ni coating proved to be more efficient than smooth Ni-electrode, resulting in 320% reduction in the energy consumption of the electrolysis cell relative to the uncoated steel cathode.