Porous Structure Optimization Empowers Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Production and Energy Storage Fields

The development of energy conversion and storage technology has put forward requirements for high specific surface area and high conductivity of porous conductive materials. As a typical porous metal material, foamed nickel is expanding its application boundaries through structural and performance optimization. Traditional foamed nickel has problems such as uneven pore size distribution and insufficient surface activity. The new generation of products has achieved comprehensive performance improvement through production process innovation.

The core technology in the production and manufacturing process lies in "precise pore size control + surface catalytic modification". Foamed nickel is prepared by electrodeposition process. The pore size (100-500μm) and porosity (80%-95%) are precisely controlled by adjusting parameters such as current density and deposition time to ensure that the material has a continuous porous structure and excellent conductivity; then, catalysts such as platinum, iridium, and nickel-cobalt alloys are loaded on the surface of foamed nickel by electroless plating or electrodeposition technology to improve the electrocatalytic activity of the material and reduce the overpotential of water electrolysis hydrogen production. In addition, surface passivation treatment is introduced in the production process to enhance the oxidation resistance of foamed nickel and prolong the service life of the product in the electrolyte.

In terms of performance characteristics, the optimized foamed nickel has three advantages: "high specific surface area, high conductivity, and high catalytic activity". The specific surface area can reach 100-300m²/g, providing sufficient active sites for electrochemical reactions; the volume resistivity is as low as 0.1-0.5mΩ·cm, ensuring efficient current transmission; in water electrolysis hydrogen production, the hydrogen evolution overpotential can be reduced to 100-200mV (@10mA/cm²), significantly improving hydrogen production efficiency.

Application fields are concentrated in water electrolysis hydrogen production and energy storage fields: in alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen production, it is used as a carrier for cathode or anode, and after loading catalysts, it realizes efficient hydrogen evolution or oxygen evolution reactions; in supercapacitors, it is used as an electrode matrix, and its porous structure and high conductivity are used to improve the energy density and power density of capacitors; in the field of secondary batteries, such as nickel-hydrogen batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries, it is used as a carrier for positive electrode materials to ensure the charge-discharge performance of batteries; in addition, it is applied to catalytic reactions, gas filtration and other scenarios, exerting the advantages of its porous structure and catalytic performance.

In the future, foamed nickel will further explore multi-material composite and functional design, such as compounding with graphene and carbon nanotubes to improve conductivity, or loading efficient non-precious metal catalysts to reduce the cost of water electrolysis hydrogen production. At the same time, it will develop ultra-thin and flexible foamed nickel products to adapt to the development needs of flexible energy storage equipment and wearable electronics, continuously promoting the progress of energy conversion and storage technology.