Efficient catalysts made of cheap and abundant metal ions are in need to overcome the sluggish kinetics of the anodic water oxidation reaction. The development of an inexpensive catalyst with improved performance is key to produce hydrogen by the electrolytic water splitting reaction. The user friendly chemical solution deposition method was applied to prepare films with predecided mole concentrations of copper and nickel. The mixed metal oxide with equal mole ratio of Cu:Ni (1:1) achieved the maximum activity with the onset of water oxidation at overpotential of 0.40 V (1.63 V vs RHE) and achieved the current density of 1 mA/cm² at an overpotential of 0.420 V at pH 13. The activity of this combination is attributed to the copper facilitated in-situ formation of a layered nickel oxy-hydroxide structure. The presence of both metal ions was found to be necessary indicating a synergy between Cu and Ni for the oxygen evolution reaction. The present work representing the simple synthesis process of the catalyst with the improved water oxidation activity is a promising step to develop electrodes for water electrolysis.

需要由廉价和丰富的金属离子制成的高效催化剂，以克服阳极水氧化反应的缓慢动力学。开发具有改进性能的廉价催化剂是通过电解水分解反应生产氢的关键。使用用户友好的化学溶液沉积方法来制备具有预定摩尔浓度的铜和镍的薄膜。具有相等摩尔比的Cu：Ni（1：1）的混合金属氧化物在过电位0.40 V（1.63 V vs RHE）的水氧化开始时达到了最大活性，电流密度为1 mA / cm ²在pH值为13时在0.420 V的超电势下。此组合的活性归因于铜促进的就地形成层状羟基氧化镍结构。发现两种金属离子的存在是必要的，这表明用于氧释放反应的Cu和Ni之间的协同作用。代表具有改进的水氧化活性的催化剂的简单合成方法的当前工作是开发用于水电解的电极的有希望的步骤。