Electrodeposited Ni-Co-B alloy: application in water electrolysis

In the present study, a new alloy, Ni-Co-B, was investigated for its possible application in water electrolysis and as corrosion resistant coating. The electrolytic alloy used for the present work was deposited by using a pulsed square wave current, having an average current density of about 0.018-0076 A/cm(2), with a frequency of about 1000 Hz. The alloy was epitaxially electrodeposited on stainless steel substrates. The average coating thickness is about 20-40 mum and the surface hardness ranges from 750 to 950 VHN (10 g). The thermal conductivity of the electrolytic alloy was tested and the value obtained was about 0.7394 cal/cm s. Furthermore, their electrical conductivity was also tested and the value obtained was 6.8123 X 107 Omega/m. The XRD analysis of the electrode posited Ni-Co-B showed a crystalline nature with binary alloy and oxide mixture, The electrocatalytic properties of the alloy were studied by cyclic voltametry in an alkaline medium (1 M KOH). The material showed high electrocatalytic activity for water electrolysis. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.