Exploring nickel-based electrocatalysts for overall alkaline water electrolysis and the hydrogen evolution reaction coupled with the glucose oxidation reaction
Abstract
Hydrogen (H2) produced via electrochemical water electrolysis is a promising route toward a zero-carbon hydrogen economy. Replacing the kinetically sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with organic oxidation reactions (OOR) in water electrolysis offers an energy-efficient approach to simultaneously produce H2 and value-added chemicals. Herein, the OER and OOR activities of Ni-based electrocatalysts grown on Ni foil (NF), Ni3N@NF, Ni3S2@NF and reference bare Ni foil (BNF), were evaluated under alkaline conditions. For the OER, the activity trend was found to be Ni3S2@NF > Ni3N@NF > BNF, in which Ni3S2@NF exhibited the highest stability in both operation and activity with the lowest overpotential values of 0.34 V (η10), 0.44 V (η100) and 0.51 V (η200) measured at 10, 100 and 200 mA cm−2, respectively. A similar activity trend was observed for alkaline OOR containing 0.1 M urea, ethanol, glucose, or hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Particular emphasis was then placed on the glucose oxidation reaction (GOR), with electrooxidation products identified and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The Ni3S2@NF electrode enabled the efficient and selective conversion of glucose to formate, achieving ∼95% glucose consumption after 24 h of electrolysis. Its superior performance for the GOR with respect to Ni3N@NF was further supported by DFT calculations. Finally, the best-performing Ni3N@NF cathode with the Ni3S2@NF anode in a two-electrode configuration achieved the overall alkaline water electrolysis and the HER coupled with the GOR at ohmic drop-corrected cell voltages of 2.18 V and 1.89 V, respectively, for an applied current density of 100 mA cm−2, with improved stability during operation for over 100 h.
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BibTeX
@article{tyagi2026exploring,
title = {{Exploring nickel-based electrocatalysts for overall alkaline water electrolysis and the hydrogen evolution reaction coupled with the glucose oxidation reaction}},
author = {Chinkit Tyagi and Pooja Basera and Sravan Kumar Kilaparthi and Corinne Lagrost and Franck Tessier and Antonio de Lucas-Consuegra and Christophe Coutanceau and Thibault Rafaïdeen and Bruno Fabre},
journal = {Journal of Materials Chemistry A},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1039/d6ta03530b},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05741437v1},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Exploring nickel-based electrocatalysts for overall alkaline water electrolysis and the hydrogen evolution reaction coupled with the glucose oxidation reaction
AU - Chinkit Tyagi
AU - Pooja Basera
AU - Sravan Kumar Kilaparthi
AU - Corinne Lagrost
AU - Franck Tessier
AU - Antonio de Lucas-Consuegra
AU - Christophe Coutanceau
AU - Thibault Rafaïdeen
AU - Bruno Fabre
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/18
JO - Journal of Materials Chemistry A
DO - 10.1039/d6ta03530b
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05741437v1
AB - Hydrogen (H2) produced via electrochemical water electrolysis is a promising route toward a zero-carbon hydrogen economy. Replacing the kinetically sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with organic oxidation reactions (OOR) in water electrolysis offers an energy-efficient approach to simultaneously produce H2 and value-added chemicals. Herein, the OER and OOR activities of Ni-based electrocatalysts grown on Ni foil (NF), Ni3N@NF, Ni3S2@NF and reference bare Ni foil (BNF), were evaluated under alkaline conditions. For the OER, the activity trend was found to be Ni3S2@NF > Ni3N@NF > BNF, in which Ni3S2@NF exhibited the highest stability in both operation and activity with the lowest overpotential values of 0.34 V (η10), 0.44 V (η100) and 0.51 V (η200) measured at 10, 100 and 200 mA cm−2, respectively. A similar activity trend was observed for alkaline OOR containing 0.1 M urea, ethanol, glucose, or hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Particular emphasis was then placed on the glucose oxidation reaction (GOR), with electrooxidation products identified and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The Ni3S2@NF electrode enabled the efficient and selective conversion of glucose to formate, achieving ∼95% glucose consumption after 24 h of electrolysis. Its superior performance for the GOR with respect to Ni3N@NF was further supported by DFT calculations. Finally, the best-performing Ni3N@NF cathode with the Ni3S2@NF anode in a two-electrode configuration achieved the overall alkaline water electrolysis and the HER coupled with the GOR at ohmic drop-corrected cell voltages of 2.18 V and 1.89 V, respectively, for an applied current density of 100 mA cm−2, with improved stability during operation for over 100 h.
SN - 2050-7488
SN - 2050-7496
ER -