Cathodic Evolution of Hydrogen on Platinum-Modified Nickel Foam Catalyst

This paper reports on cathodic evolution of hydrogen, examined at Pt-modified nickel foam material. Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was studied in 0.1 M NaOH solution on platinum-activated nickel foam catalyst material, obtained via a spontaneous deposition method. Catalytic Pt modification of nickel foam resulted in a substantial enhancement of the HER kinetics, as compared to those recently recorded on Pd/Ru-modified Ni foam catalyst materials. Electrochemical investigations were carried out by means of AC impedance spectroscopy and quasi-potentiostatic cathodic polarization experiments. In addition, importance of nano-catalytic nature of the Pt deposit and its influence on the HER characteristics were discussed in detail with help of SEM/EDX spectroscopy analysis.