Rapid Outgassing of Hydrophilic TiO2 Electrodes Achieves Long-Term Stability of Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers
摘要
The state-of-the-art anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) require highly stable electrodes for prolonged operation. The stability of the electrode is closely linked to the effective evacuation of H2 or O2 gas generated from electrode surface during the electrolysis. In this study, we prepared a super-hydrophilic electrode by depositing porous nickel–iron nanoparticles on annealed TiO2 nanotubes (NiFe/ATNT) for rapid outgassing of such nonpolar gases. The super-hydrophilic NiFe/ATNT electrode exhibited an overpotential of 235 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for oxygen evolution reaction in 1.0 M KOH solution, and was utilized as the anode in the AEMWE to achieve a current density of 1.67 A cm−2 at 1.80 V. In addition, the AEMWE with NiFe/ATNT electrode, which enables effective outgassing, showed record stability for 1500 h at 0.50 A cm−2 under harsh temperature conditions of 80 ± 3 °C.