Preparation of highly active and durable electrodes for alkaline water electrolysis by anodizing of commercial FeNi and FeNiCo alloys

Anodizing is gaining popularity as a binder-free fabrication route for obtaining catalyst materials directly on the current collector without using noble metals, binders, or conductive carbon additives. Here, we fabricate promising highly active electrodes for alkaline water electrolysis by anodizing commercial FeNi and FeNiCo alloys (%wt. Fe range between 22 and 63) in an ethylene glycol-based fluoride electrolyte. Anodizing forms metal fluoride coatings, which are converted to OER active compounds (γ-NiOOH:Fe) during potential cycling in an alkaline aqueous solution (1 mol L−1 (M) KOH at 293 K) as a result of leaching of fluoride ions. The morphology, thickness, and number of active sites are influenced by the amount of Fe in the alloy, and the electrode with the highest electrochemical active surface area (Kovar alloy with a 54 %wt. Fe) shows the largest OER activity enhancement by anodizing. The performance evaluation in practical conditions (7 mol L−1 KOH at 343 K) demonstrated a highly active performance with an OER potential as low as 1.52 V at a current density of 600 mA cm−2 even for electrodes obtained in alloys with a low amount of Fe (78-Permalloy with a 22 %wt. Fe), demonstrating that anodizing is an effective way to develop highly active OER electrodes from commercially available alloys. On the other hand, anodizing is a good fluoridation route for transition metals with good results in the formation of F-enriched precursors that efficiently promote active phase formation during the catalytic process, offering the possibility of obtaining catalysts directly on the current collector in a one-step process, easily implemented in industrial applications.