Nickel Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube Composite Electrode for Hydrogen Generation
- PDF / 502,545 Bytes
- 6 Pages / 612 x 792 pts (letter) Page_size
- 87 Downloads / 247 Views
Nickel Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube Composite Electrode for Hydrogen Generation Nitin Kalra1, Kalathur Santhanam1, 2, David Olney1 1. Materials Science and Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, United States. 2. Department of Chemistry, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, United States. ABSTRACT The electrochemical decomposition of water is an attractive method, however, the performance of the electrodes and efficiencies are of great concern in its large scale production. In this context, we wish to report here the superior performance of Nimultiwalled carbon nanotube composite as cathode in the decomposition of water. The current voltage curves recorded with this electrode in different media showed a significant electrocatalysis in the reduction of hydrogen ion; the background electrolysis is shifted in the anodic direction. The nanocomposite composition has been found to be crucial in the efficient production of hydrogen. A coulombic efficiency of about 68% has been obtained at this electrode with a hydrogen production rate of 130L/m2 d. This electrode is more efficient than the 316L stainless steel (composition in percentage: C 0.019, Cr 17.3, Mo 2.04, Ni 11.3, Mn 1.04, N 0.041, Fe bulk) cathode that produces 10 ml/h at an area of 20 cm2 (5L/m2.h) (2). The results obtained with different electrolytes, performance variation with electrode composition, and current densities will be presented. The trials carried out using solar panel instead of DC power source showed similar hydrogen production rates and efficiencies. ---------------------INTRODUCTION Green energy focuses on the usage of oxidizable fuels that do not produce green house gases. Hydrogen gas is unique in that it not only gives a green energy but also has a fuel value that is three times more than gasoline. Due to limited availability in nature, it has to be produced by chemical methods. Hydrogen gas is one of the attractive fuels that have the potentiality of reducing green house gas effect (1). Its fuel value is nearly three times that of gasoline with water as the product of its combustion. However, the natural abundance of it is extremely small; the availability of it in the compound form is very high in our planet. About 71% of the earth surface is covered with water which is a promising feature of hydrogen as a fuel. A simple electrolysis of water can produce hydrogen that could be utilized as a fuel. However, there is an important factor that comes into play in developing the electrolytic unit; that is the economics of the conversion of water to hydrogen. Here in order to compete with fossil fuels, the electrolytic generation of hydrogen should be comparable. With this goal in mind, there have been a number of electrolytic units with a number of different electrodes have been designed and tested in the literature (2-8). Among the electrodes investigated, Nickel has been found to be the most promising electrode for the production of hydrogen. It has corrosion resistance in alkaline media. Besides energy loss
Data Loading...
