Vertically Aligned Porous Nickel(II) Hydroxide Nanosheets Supported on Carbon Paper with Long-Term Oxygen Evolution Performance.

Vertically aligned Ni(OH)2 nanosheets were grown on carbon paper (CP) current collectors through a simple and cost-effective hydrothermal approach. The as-grown nanosheets are porous and highly crystallized. If used as a monolithic electrode for electrochemical water oxidation in alkaline solution, the carbon paper supported Ni(OH)2 nanosheets [CP@Ni(OH)2] exhibit high electrocatalytic activity and excellent long-term stability. The electrode can attain an anodic current density of 20 mA cm−2 at a low overpotential of 338 mV, comparable to that of state-of-the-art RuO2 nanocatalysts supported on CP (CP/RuO2) with the same catalyst loading. Significantly, CP@Ni(OH)2 shows much better long-term stability than CP/RuO2 upon continuous galvanostatic electrolysis, particularly at a high industry-relevant current density such as 100 mA cm−2. CP@Ni(OH)2 can sustain water oxidation at 100 mA cm−2 for 50 h without any degradation, whereas the performance of CP/RuO2 is much poorer and deteriorates gradually over time. CP@Ni(OH)2 electrodes hold substantial promise for use as low-costing water oxidation anodes in electrolyzers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]