CuxCo3-xO4 ultra-thin film as efficient anodic catalysts for anion exchange membrane water electrolysers

CuCoO ultra-thin films, deposited by magnetron sputtering at oblique angles have been used as anodic catalysts in anion exchange membrane water electrolysers. It has been demonstrated that the used deposition procedure provides porous and amorphous samples with a strict control of the total catalyst...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: López-Fernández, Ester, Gil-Rostra, J., Espinós, J.P., González-Elipe, Agustín R., Yubero, Francisco, Lucas-Consuegra, Antonio de
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/221485
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/221485
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:AEM water electrolysis
Magnetron sputtering
CuO-Co3O4
OER
Hydrogen production
Descrição
Resumo:CuCoO ultra-thin films, deposited by magnetron sputtering at oblique angles have been used as anodic catalysts in anion exchange membrane water electrolysers. It has been demonstrated that the used deposition procedure provides porous and amorphous samples with a strict control of the total catalyst load and Co/Cu ratio. Electrocatalytic tests showed a maximum performance for the oxygen evolution reaction at Co/Cu atomic ratio around 1.8. The optimized anodic catalyst presented a long-term stability confirmed by accelerated lifetime tests together with the chemical surface analysis of the used samples. The effect of the crystallization of a single layer CuCoO and a multilayer (CuO/CoO) anodic catalyst samples was also investigated. The observed loss of catalytic performance found in both cases may prove that a particular local chemical environment around the Co and Cu sites acts as an efficient catalytic site for the oxygen evolution reaction. A catalyst film with the optimum Co/Cu atomic ratio was incorporated into a Membrane Electrode Assembly, using a sputtered Ni film as cathode. Current density values up to 100 mA cm at 2.0 V were obtained in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte. Upon normalization by the amount of catalyst, this performance is one of the highest reported in literature.