The effect of electrodeposition voltage on the morphology of Ni coated 3D printed PLA/carbon electrode

In this paper, Aactivation of 3D printed PLA/Carbon with through electroplating at various voltages is investigated. The activated electrode was employed with water electrolysis to determine the reactivity for the hydrogen production. The objectives are to activate 3D printed PLA with nickel promoter, investigate the effect of voltage on the electrode morphology and evaluate the electrocatalytic reactivity. The electrodes were designed by using Solidwork and printed by using Fused Deposition Modelling 3D printer. Electrodeposition was conducted by using different voltages to decorate the electrodes with metallic promoters in order to activate them for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction at the cathode. The morphology of the plated electrode electrodeposition was observed by using optical microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The activated electrode reactivity was then evaluated by employing electrocatalysis, i.e., hydrogen evolution reaction. The electrode plated with Ni at 15V for 60 minutes produced the highest amount of hydrogen gas compared to other. However, further investigation by prolonging the time for 5V electroplating process showed higher hydrogen gas production compared to 15V 60 minutes electroplated electrode. Low voltage resulted in good more uniform nickel coating, while high voltage caused the coating to be peeled off as observed by scanning electron microscope & optical microscope.