Abstract Improvement of electrodes with earth-abundant materials is vital for a wider use of water splitting for hydrogen production. In this work, electrodeposits of Ni and Ni with reduced graphene oxide (Ni/rGO) were prepared by the galvanic square wave method. Ni/rGO had cauliflower-type morphology; its surface area was larger than that of Ni by over four times. XPS analysis showed more carbon and oxides on Ni/rGO. Electrochemical measurements in 1.0 M KOH revealed a new feature of Ni/rGO as compared with Ni, namely its greater anodic reactivity and stronger enhancement of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) after anodic oxidation. The latter was explained by a refinement of the electrode surface by Ni being deposited through cathodic reduction of Ni oxides/hydroxides. Enhanced HER on Ni/rGO was explained by enlarged surface area and the formation of larger amounts of Ni oxides/hydroxides. Electrodeposition of Ni/rGO followed by voltammetric cycling might be a promising method for reactivation of cathodes for water electrolysis.

中文翻译：

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阳极处理的镍/还原氧化石墨烯电沉积作为碱性水电解中析氢的有效低成本电催化剂

摘要 用地球上丰富的材料改进电极对于更广泛地使用水分解制氢至关重要。在这项工作中，通过电流方波法制备了具有还原氧化石墨烯 (Ni/rGO) 的 Ni 和 Ni 的电沉积物。Ni/rGO 具有花椰菜型形态；其表面积比Ni大四倍以上。XPS 分析显示 Ni/rGO 上有更多的碳和氧化物。在 1.0 M KOH 中的电化学测量揭示了与 Ni 相比，Ni/rGO 的一个新特征，即阳极氧化后具有更高的阳极反应性和更强的析氢反应 (HER) 增强。后者可以通过通过 Ni 氧化物/氢氧化物的阴极还原沉积 Ni 来细化电极表面来解释。Ni/rGO 上增强的 HER 可以通过扩大的表面积和大量 Ni 氧化物/氢氧化物的形成来解释。Ni/rGO 的电沉积，然后是伏安循环，可能是一种有前景的水电解阴极再活化方法。