Hydrogen evolution reaction on amorphous Ni-P electrodes produced by electrodeposition

Ni-P alloy electrodes with different phosphorus contents were prepared by means of electrodeposition method. The catalyzing property of different electrodes as the hydrogen evolution-cathode in 1 mol/L KOH solution at 20°C was studied with constant current polarization method. The structures of Ni-P alloy electrodes were also analyzed by XRD and SEM. The results show that the Ni-P alloy electrode with phosphorus content of 8.49 at% (atomic percent) performs excellent catalyzing property. Its hydrogen evolution overpotential is 95 mV, the lowest at the current density of 150 mA/cm2, which is 342 mV lower than that of Ni electrode. And its Tafel slope in the low current density is 65.4 mV/dec. This property is related to its phosphorus content and structure.