Preparation of NiCoFe electrodes for electrochemical deoxidation by one-step electrodeposition

Aiming at the high cost and poor effect of catalytic materials for cathodic oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in electrochemical deoxygenation, NiCoFe ternary alloy was efficiently prepared by electrodeposition under different current densities, and the morphology and structure of the alloy material were characterized and analyzed, which showed that NiCoFe alloy had a fluffy cauliflower-like surface morphology and alloy crystalline structure. The ORR performance of the NiCoFe alloy was tested in a three-electrode system at different current densities. When the electrodeposition current density was 1.0 A/cm2, the alloy was obtained with a half-wave potential of 0.782 V, an onset potential of 0.936 V, and a limiting current density of 2.9 mA/cm2. The rotating ring disk electrode(RRDE) test showed that the number of transferred electrons of the alloy was 3.52, which was close to that of the four-electron transfer of commercial Pt/C catalysts. An electrochemical deoxidation test equipment was designed to investigate the removal effect of NiCoFe alloy as a cathode electrode on dissolved oxygen in simulated industrial water. The results showed that the deoxidation rate of NiCoFe cathode was over 99%, making it an excellent ORR electrocatalyst material.