A comparative study on the electrocatalytic activity of electrodeposited Ni-W and Ni-P alloy coatings

Abstract

Bright Ni-W and Ni-P alloy coatings were synthesized through direct electrolysis from an aqueous alkaline citrate bath. The effect of alloying elements, W and P, on the electrocatalytic activity of Ni was studied, based on their induced codeposition behavior and related to the composition, structure and surface morphology of the developed coatings. The electrocatalytic activity of the alloy coatings towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was studied using electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronopotentiometry (CP), in 1. M KOH medium. A comparison of the electrocatalytic efficiencies of these Ni-based alloys was made in consideration with its physical and electrochemical characteristics. The obtained results showed that the alloying of Ni with W gives superior properties towards HER, attributed by its better hydrogen adsorption energy than in Ni-P alloy. The surface appearance, chemical composition and phase structure of the coatings were studied using SEM, EDS and XRD analyses, respectively. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.