Abstract:

The persistently increasing energy consumption and exhaustion of conventional fuels have raised serious concerns all over the world. The environmental issues and energy crisis have forced human to develop more efficient and sustainable energy conversion and storage systems. Hydrogen can be considered as the clean energy resource, because of high energy density, zero carbon emission and high combustion rate. Electrochemical water splitting has been globalized as one of the advance energy conversion processes. It is considered as the most efficient way for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER)  because of its high purity, low cost and environment amity. The electrocatalysts made of noble metal oxides show wide range of electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) but cannot be used commercially as they are highly expensive. Economical, stable, and efficient electrocatalysts are essential to overcome the scarcity of desirable electrocatalysts for HER and OER reactions.

In this regard, we have synthesized a bifunctional electrocatalyst of Nickel/Carbon (Ni/C) and Cobalt/Carbon (Co/C) composites constructed by directly growing Ni and Co based MOFs on commercial nickel foam (NF) using hydrothermal method. In the hierarchical system, Ni and Co nanoparticles provide the catalytically active sites and the carbon matrix provide the conductive pathway. The electrocatalysts annealed at high temperature exhibited remarkable electrocatalytic activity for both HER and OER in alkaline medium.

Thesis Committee

• Dr. Ali Rauf (supervisor)
• Dr. Salman Noshear Arshad (thesis committee member/evaluator)