Energy consumption and stability of the Ni–Mo electrodes for the alkaline hydrogen production at industrial conditions

Hydrogen production via electrolysis of water from alkaline aqueous electrolytes is a well-established conventional technology. However, the cost of hydrogen produced in such a way is high. To improve this process we have investigated in situ activation with Ni–Mo electrocatalytic material for electrodes. This two d-metal combination possesses one of the highest known activities for the HER. Ni–Mo based catalyst was not applied at industrial applications yet, because under industrial conditions (high temperature and concentrated alkaline solution), permanent destruction of the Ni–Mo alloy coating occurs. The most important result of this study is that the Ni–Mo deposit obtained by in situ activation, under industrial conditions, exhibit long term stability and the electrodes retain their high catalytic performance. The process of adding Ni–Mo activating compounds in situ exhibits savings of the energy consumption that can go beyond 20% in some cases.

► Investigation on the energy consumption at Ni–Mo catalyst for the HER. ► Ni–Mo catalyst electrodeposited in situ under working conditions of the industrial electrolyser. ► Ni–Mo catalyst reveal high stability in the long-run.