Steel Based Precious Group Metal-Free High-Performance Electrodes for Alkaline Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

Heinius L, Schröer P, Wilke V, Rittel M, Doan QD, Thum CY, Amitrano R, Günther CM, Schmidt J, Dinh DV, Dworschak D, Gago AS, Friedrich KA, Dionigi F, Strasser P (2026)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Chemsuschem Wiley-VCH Verlag

Book Volume: 19

Article Number: e70895

Journal Issue: 14

DOI: 10.1002/cssc.70895

Abstract

The development of platinum-group-metal (PGM)-free electrodes is essential for cost-effective alkaline water electrolysis. Herein, we report steel-based electrodes for a fully PGM-free, ionomer-free anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE). A Ni layer deposited on stainless steel (ss) was modified via hydrothermal NiMo growth followed by reductive annealing, yielding a hierarchical NiMo@ss catalyst. Structural characterization revealed MoO2-derived needle-like structures decorated with metallic Ni and intimate NiMo interfaces. In 0.1 M KOH, the catalyst exhibited an overpotential of −70 mV at −10 mA cm−2 with an apparent Tafel slope of 132 mV dec−1, demonstrating significantly improved hydrogen evolution reaction kinetics compared to bare stainless steel and electrodeposited Ni. Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of the porous transport layer was enhanced via a simple Ni deposition and anodization procedure, resulting in an overpotential of 284 mV at 10 mA cm−2. Integration of both electrodes into a PGM-free AEMWE single cell (5 × 5 cm2) enabled a current density of 1 A cm−2 at 1.92 V in 1 M KOH at 60 °C. The cell further demonstrated stable operation for 60 h under dynamic conditions cycling between 0.1 and 1 A cm−2. These results highlight the potential of engineered steel-supported electrodes for scalable noble-metal-free hydrogen production.

Involved external institutions

Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR) / German Aerospace Center DE Germany (DE) Technische Universität Berlin DE Germany (DE) Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik - Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. DE Germany (DE) Forschungszentrum Jülich / Research Centre Jülich (FZJ) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Heinius, L., Schröer, P., Wilke, V., Rittel, M., Doan, Q.D., Thum, C.Y.,... Strasser, P. (2026). Steel Based Precious Group Metal-Free High-Performance Electrodes for Alkaline Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis. Chemsuschem, 19(14). https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.70895

MLA:

Heinius, Lukas, et al. "Steel Based Precious Group Metal-Free High-Performance Electrodes for Alkaline Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis." Chemsuschem 19.14 (2026).

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