Corrosion of nickel foam electrodes during hydrothermal reactions: The influence of a simple protective carbon black coating

Nickel foam (NF) substrates are widely used to support electrocatalysts, and this is frequently achieved using hydrothermal reactions, where the NF is immersed in the hydrothermal reactor together with the electrocatalyst precursors. However, other reactions including the corrosion of the NF and cha...

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Main Authors: Gillian Collins, Tara N. Barwa, Luke Glennon, P. Rupa Kasturi, Carmel B. Breslin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Electrochemistry Communications
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388248124001784
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author Gillian Collins
Tara N. Barwa
Luke Glennon
P. Rupa Kasturi
Carmel B. Breslin
author_facet Gillian Collins
Tara N. Barwa
Luke Glennon
P. Rupa Kasturi
Carmel B. Breslin
author_sort Gillian Collins
collection DOAJ
description Nickel foam (NF) substrates are widely used to support electrocatalysts, and this is frequently achieved using hydrothermal reactions, where the NF is immersed in the hydrothermal reactor together with the electrocatalyst precursors. However, other reactions including the corrosion of the NF and changes to the pH occur simultaneously, and these can affect the quality of the final electrocatalyst. Herein, a simple approach is devised to minimise these unwanted reactions. Carbon black (CB) was non-covalently functionalised at room temperature using tannic acid to give very stable and good dispersions of fCB in deionised water. Using a simple sonication step, the NF was coated with a uniform layer of the dispersed fCB. This layer served to minimise the corrosion of the underlying NF during the hydrothermal reactions with very good protection observed up to a temperature of 160 °C in deionised water at a pH of 2.0. The corrosion currents of the NF and fCB@NF were estimated at 8.7 µA and 3.9 µA, respectively, at room temperature in this acidic solution. Using a model reaction, the successful nucleation and growth of MnCo2O4 cubes was observed at fCB@NF, but not at the corroding NF.
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institution Kabale University
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publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
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series Electrochemistry Communications
spelling doaj-art-5f8b60a7e3734561b0d34edfba2a7a342024-11-28T04:34:24ZengElsevierElectrochemistry Communications1388-24812024-12-01169107835Corrosion of nickel foam electrodes during hydrothermal reactions: The influence of a simple protective carbon black coatingGillian Collins0Tara N. Barwa1Luke Glennon2P. Rupa Kasturi3Carmel B. Breslin4Department of Chemistry, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, IrelandDepartment of Chemistry, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, IrelandDepartment of Chemistry, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, IrelandDepartment of Chemistry, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, IrelandDepartment of Chemistry, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland; Kathleen Lonsdale Institute, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland; Corresponding author at: Department of Chemistry, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland.Nickel foam (NF) substrates are widely used to support electrocatalysts, and this is frequently achieved using hydrothermal reactions, where the NF is immersed in the hydrothermal reactor together with the electrocatalyst precursors. However, other reactions including the corrosion of the NF and changes to the pH occur simultaneously, and these can affect the quality of the final electrocatalyst. Herein, a simple approach is devised to minimise these unwanted reactions. Carbon black (CB) was non-covalently functionalised at room temperature using tannic acid to give very stable and good dispersions of fCB in deionised water. Using a simple sonication step, the NF was coated with a uniform layer of the dispersed fCB. This layer served to minimise the corrosion of the underlying NF during the hydrothermal reactions with very good protection observed up to a temperature of 160 °C in deionised water at a pH of 2.0. The corrosion currents of the NF and fCB@NF were estimated at 8.7 µA and 3.9 µA, respectively, at room temperature in this acidic solution. Using a model reaction, the successful nucleation and growth of MnCo2O4 cubes was observed at fCB@NF, but not at the corroding NF.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388248124001784Nickel foamCorrosionpH changesCarbon blackNon-covalent functionalisation
spellingShingle Gillian Collins
Tara N. Barwa
Luke Glennon
P. Rupa Kasturi
Carmel B. Breslin
Corrosion of nickel foam electrodes during hydrothermal reactions: The influence of a simple protective carbon black coating
Electrochemistry Communications
Nickel foam
Corrosion
pH changes
Carbon black
Non-covalent functionalisation
title Corrosion of nickel foam electrodes during hydrothermal reactions: The influence of a simple protective carbon black coating
title_full Corrosion of nickel foam electrodes during hydrothermal reactions: The influence of a simple protective carbon black coating
title_fullStr Corrosion of nickel foam electrodes during hydrothermal reactions: The influence of a simple protective carbon black coating
title_full_unstemmed Corrosion of nickel foam electrodes during hydrothermal reactions: The influence of a simple protective carbon black coating
title_short Corrosion of nickel foam electrodes during hydrothermal reactions: The influence of a simple protective carbon black coating
title_sort corrosion of nickel foam electrodes during hydrothermal reactions the influence of a simple protective carbon black coating
topic Nickel foam
Corrosion
pH changes
Carbon black
Non-covalent functionalisation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388248124001784
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AT lukeglennon corrosionofnickelfoamelectrodesduringhydrothermalreactionstheinfluenceofasimpleprotectivecarbonblackcoating
AT prupakasturi corrosionofnickelfoamelectrodesduringhydrothermalreactionstheinfluenceofasimpleprotectivecarbonblackcoating
AT carmelbbreslin corrosionofnickelfoamelectrodesduringhydrothermalreactionstheinfluenceofasimpleprotectivecarbonblackcoating