The Influence of Loadings and Substrates on the Performance of Nickel-Based Catalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Efficient and durable catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are of great importance for energy storage and conversion devices. However, an objective evaluation and fair comparison of different catalysts remain challenging due to the different catalyst loadings and substrates for OER measurements. In this work, we investigated NiFe layer double hydroxide and commercial Ni/NiO catalysts with different loadings and substrates of glassy carbon (GC), porous nickel foam (NF), and carbon paper (CP). The activity, cycling stability, and potentiostatic stability of the catalysts are compared with respect to the loading and substrate. Catalyst loading exhibits a volcano trend with OER activity, while it has little impact on stability. The 3D substrates NF and CP significantly improved the OER activity of the catalysts compared to GC, especially at higher loadings. The consistent degradation trend of the catalysts confirms the validity of using NF or CP as substrates for the stability test.