Electrocatalysts for alkaline electrolysis

Perovskites can be highly active electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline water electrolysis, due their many possible derivatives and electrical properties. The high electrocatalytic activity of LaNiO3 towards the OER hs been widely documented, with current research focusing on surface area enhancement. Here, a synthesis of LaNiO3 prepared by a high energy ball milling step and a calcination of 900 C was successfully performed. The high calcination temperature was found to provide low surface areas, 1 m2/g and thus the influence of a second milling step under various conditions were examined. The use of a second milling step with ZnO additive were found to a produce a highly porous structure with an optimum surface area of 11.2 m2/g.