Oxidized mild steel S235: an efficient anode for the electrocatalytically initiated water-splitting

Schäfer, Helmut; Küpper, Karsten; Wollschläger, Joachim; Kashaev, Nikolai; Hardege, Jörg; Walder, Lorenz; Mohsen?Beladi-Mousavi, Seyyed; Hartmann-Azanza, Brigitte; Steinhart, Martin; Sadaf, Shamaila; Dorn, Falk

Abstract

The surface of steel S235 was oxidized by Cl₂ gas and checked for its electrocatalytic efficiency regarding oxygen formation in aqueous solution. If exposed to humid Cl₂ gas for 110 min, steel S235 became an electrocatalyst that exhibits an overpotential for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) of 462 mV at 1 mA cm² at pH 7. The OER activity of the same sample at pH 13 was moderate (347 mV overpotential at 2.0 mA cm² current density) in comparison with OER electrocatalysts developed recently. Potential versus time plots measured at a constant current demonstrate the sufficient stability of all samples under catalysis conditions at pH 7 and 13 for tens of hours. High-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectra could be reasonably resolved with the proviso that Fe₂O₃, FeO(OH), MnO(OH), and Mn₂O₃ are the predominant Fe and Mn species on the surface of the oxidized steel S235.

Citation

Schäfer, H., Küpper, K., Wollschläger, J., Kashaev, N., Hardege, J., Walder, L., …Dorn, F. (2015). Oxidized mild steel S235: an efficient anode for the electrocatalytically initiated water-splitting. ChemSusChem, 8(18), 3099-3110. https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201500666

• Acceptance Date: Jun 28, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Aug 13, 2015
• Publication Date: Sep 21, 2015
• Deposit Date: Feb 29, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 29, 2016
• Journal: Chemsuschem
• Print ISSN: 1864-5631
• Electronic ISSN: 1864-564X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 18
• Pages: 3099-3110
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201500666
• Keywords: General Energy; General Materials Science; General Chemical Engineering; Environmental Chemistry
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/411727
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cssc.201500666/full
• Additional Information: Authors' accepted manuscript of article : Schäfer, H., Küpper, K., Wollschläger, J., Kashaev, N., Hardege, J., Walder, L., Mohsen Beladi-Mousavi, S., Hartmann-Azanza, B., Steinhart, M., Sadaf, S. and Dorn, F. (2015), Oxidized Mild Steel S235: An Efficient Anode for Electrocatalytically Initiated Water Splitting. ChemSusChem, 8: 3099–3110.