Chitosan complex based hybrid material as catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

The hybrid material based on polyelectrolyte complexes of chitosan with oxycompounds of cobalt and nickel was electrodeposited on a stainless steel plate using the method of non-stationary electrolysis. The hybrid material layer was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic properties of the hybrid material were studied in the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline electrolyte (1 mol·L⁻¹ NaOH). It was determined that during the initial four-hour period of the hydrogen evolution process, the overpotential underwent a substantial decline, remaining constant for a minimum of 17 h thereafter, from 289 up to 210 mV at −10 mA·cm⁻². After a long-term hydrogen evolution, the activity of the hybrid material electrode exceeded hydrogen evolution reaction activity by 20% Pt/C commercial catalyst at a high current density of −100 mA·cm⁻².