Ultralow loading electroless deposition of IrOx on nickel foam for efficient and stable water oxidation catalysis

Photocatalysis and electrolysis are crucial processes for the development of a sustainable, clean energy system, since they enable solar fuel production, such as hydrogen by water splitting, as well as CO reduction. In these processes efficient and robust catalysts for water oxidation are required and the reduction of employed amount of noble metals is crucial to reduce costs and increase the sustainability of the technology. To obtain extremely low iridium loading on nickel foam electrodes we have employed electroless deposition by spontaneous galvanic displacement as a simple, low cost, highly scalable technique. After deposition the Ir oxidation has been achieved by annealing in air at 250 °C. By varying the deposition parameters, an optimal condition has been achieved, with an overpotential for water oxidation of 360 mV at 10 mA cm in 1.0 M KOH solution. The Ni foam coverage with Ir oxide has also a positive impact on the electrode stability, strongly decreasing the degradation rate, compared to the case of bare Ni foam. The average amount of noble metal in the best performing electrode is only 35 ?g cm for a 1.6 mm thick Ni foam electrode. The proposed approach is highly promising for gas diffusion electrodes, and can be implemented in electrolytic cells, as well as in fuel cells.