The role of ligament gap in electrocatalytic activity of reduced graphene oxide/NiO mesoporous in hydrogen evolution reaction

This work investigates the role of ligament gap of NiO mesoporous prepared with different template in the activity of rGO/NiO in alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. The activity of electrocatalyst was found to be highly dictated by the size of ligament gap rather than surface area. Result showed that rGO/NiO made with KCC-1 exhibited a superior activity due to its large ligament gap, even though its surface area was the smallest. It is believed that the evolved hydrogen gas built-up inside NiO mesoporous bulk structure could increase the internal electrode resistance and decrease overall catalytic activity.

Automated summary

This study investigates the impact of ligament gap in NiO mesoporous with different templates on the activity of rGO/NiO in alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. It is found that the activity of the electrocatalyst is primarily determined by the size of ligament gap rather than the surface area. The results demonstrate that rGO/NiO prepared with KCC-1 template exhibits superior activity due to its larger ligament gap, despite having the smallest surface area. It is suggested that the accumulated hydrogen gas within the NiO mesoporous structure could elevate the internal electrode resistance and reduce overall catalytic activity.