Chemists find nickel catalyst active surface is NiO₂, not NiOOH

A team at Ulm University has refuted a decades-old assumption: the catalytically active surface of nickel electrodes in alkaline water electrolysis is nickel dioxide (NiO₂), not nickel oxyhydroxide (NiOOH). The findings were published in Nature Catalysis.

• Active surface of nickel electrodes is NiO₂, not NiOOH
• Finding reshapes understanding of alkaline water electrolysis catalysis
• Study published in the journal Nature Catalysis
• Nickel is a cheap, robust catalyst for hydrogen production