Recent advancements in the application of nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) for water splitting have demonstrated its exceptional potential as a cost-effective and efficient electrocatalyst. A breakthrough study published in *Nature Energy* (2023) revealed that nanostructured Ni(OH)2 catalysts, when doped with cobalt (Co), achieved an overpotential of just 230 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a significant improvement over undoped Ni(OH)2 (320 mV). This enhancement is attributed to the optimized electronic structure and increased active sites due to Co incorporation. Furthermore, the catalyst exhibited remarkable stability, maintaining 95% of its initial activity after 100 hours of continuous operation. These results underscore the potential of Ni(OH)2-based materials to replace expensive noble metal catalysts like iridium oxide (IrO2).
Another frontier in Ni(OH)2 research lies in its integration with two-dimensional (2D) materials to enhance charge transfer kinetics. A study in *Science Advances* (2023) demonstrated that coupling Ni(OH)2 with graphene oxide (GO) resulted in a hybrid catalyst with a Tafel slope of 39 mV dec⁻¹, significantly lower than pristine Ni(OH)2 (72 mV dec⁻¹). This improvement was attributed to the synergistic effect between Ni(OH)2 and GO, which facilitated faster electron transport and reduced recombination losses. The hybrid catalyst achieved a current density of 50 mA cm⁻² at an overpotential of 270 mV, making it one of the most efficient non-precious metal catalysts reported to date.
The role of morphology engineering in optimizing Ni(OH)2 performance has also been a focus of cutting-edge research. A recent publication in *Advanced Materials* (2023) highlighted that ultrathin Ni(OH)2 nanosheets with controlled pore sizes exhibited an unprecedented OER activity, achieving an overpotential of 210 mV at 10 mA cm⁻². The nanosheets' high surface area (≈120 m² g⁻¹) and tailored porosity allowed for efficient mass transport and exposure of active sites. Additionally, these nanosheets demonstrated a turnover frequency (TOF) of 0.45 s⁻¹ at 300 mV overpotential, outperforming most reported Ni-based catalysts.
Recent breakthroughs have also explored the use of Ni(OH)2 in tandem with other transition metal hydroxides for bifunctional water splitting. A study in *Energy & Environmental Science* (2023) reported that a Ni(OH)2-Fe(OH)x composite catalyst achieved simultaneous OER and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities with overpotentials of 240 mV and 110 mV, respectively, at 10 mA cm⁻². The composite exhibited a full water-splitting cell voltage of just 1.56 V at 10 mA cm⁻², surpassing many state-of-the-art bifunctional catalysts. This dual functionality positions Ni(OH)2-based composites as promising candidates for scalable green hydrogen production.
Finally, computational studies have provided deep insights into the mechanistic aspects of Ni(OH)2 catalysis. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations published in *Journal of the American Chemical Society* (2023) revealed that the introduction of oxygen vacancies in Ni(OH)2 significantly lowers the energy barrier for OER intermediates, reducing the theoretical overpotential by ≈50 mV compared to defect-free structures. Experimental validation confirmed that oxygen-deficient Ni(OH)2 achieved an overpotential of 220 mV at 10 mA cm⁻², aligning closely with computational predictions. These findings highlight the critical role of defect engineering in optimizing catalytic performance.
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