Ni-Mn based alloys as versatile catalyst for different electrochemical reactions

To develop large scale use of hydrogen and fuel cells as a renewable energy source it is need to increase their durability and reduce their cost mainly due to the use of precious metals. We have examined new type of the low cost binary nickel-manganese (Ni-Mn) catalysts electrodeposited from ammonium chloride bath onto copper substrates. By varying bath composition, polarization potential and essentially bath temperature the operating deposition conditions were optimized to produce Ni-Mn coatings with high active surface (e.g. spongy aspect). The outstanding catalytic activity, the durability and the versatility of the deposited films have been characterized in basic media using several electrochemical processes, such as hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), water oxidation reaction (OER) and ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR).