Encapsulation of Ni nanoparticles in O-doped carbon as chainmail electrocatalyst for alkaline seawater hydrogen evolution

Kaili Wan; Tianyu Zhang; Huijing Wang; Shuo Liu; Chongbao Xie; Ruilin Gao; Yanxin Qin; Xiang Yang; Ying Guo; Lianying Wang; Junfeng Liu

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-mater.2025.100148

The Innovation Materials > 2025 Vol. 3 > No. 3 > 100148

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Encapsulation of Ni nanoparticles in O-doped carbon as chainmail electrocatalyst for alkaline seawater hydrogen evolution

1.
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
2.
Faculty of Maritime and Transportation, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
3.
These authors contributed equally

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Corresponding authors: ljf@mail.buct.edu.cn (J.L.); wangliany@mail.buct.edu.cn (L.W.)
Received Date: January 07, 2025

Accepted Date: June 23, 2025

Published Online: July 07, 2025

The Innovation Materials 3(3), https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-mater.2025.100148 | Cite this article

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GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

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PUBLIC SUMMARY

PUBLIC SUMMARY
1. A chainmail catalyst with O-doped carbon-coated Ni nanoparticles was made via salicylic acid intercalation.
  
  Ni@O-C/CNTs shows excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (58 mV) in alkaline seawater with >2000 h stability.
  
  In electrolyzer tests, Ni@O-C/CNTs achieves high efficiency and >300 h stability in real seawater.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Carbon encapsulation represents a promising strategy for enhancing the activity and stability of the nanocatalysts via the chainmail approach, showing great potential in seawater electrolysis. Herein, a chainmail design is proposed to synthesize nickel nanoparticles protected with an O-doped graphitic shell on carbon nanotubes (Ni@O-C/CNTs) for highly efficient and stable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline seawater. Ni@O-C/CNTs are synthesized by in situ pyrolysis of salicylate intercalated layered nickel hydroxides, forming abundant Ni-O-C bonds at the interface. This chainmail design facilitates the penetration of valence electrons from the active Ni core to the graphitic shell, thereby promoting the adsorption of intermediates involved in HER. Moreover, the enriched O groups on CNTs enhance hydrophilicity and aerophobicity, facilitating electrolyte transport and hydrogen evolution during HER. Owing to the unique chainmail design, Ni@O-C/CNTs exhibit excellent HER performance in real alkaline seawater with a 58 mV overpotential at the current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and maintain stability at a current density of 150 mA cm⁻² over 2000 hours. Impressively, a high energy efficiency of 80% and stability of up to 300 hours are achieved for the alkaline seawater electrolyzer assembled using Ni@O-C/CNTs under practical conditions.
- hydrogen evolution /
- alkaline seawater electrolysis /
- chainmail catalyst /
- nickel nanoparticle /
- O-doped carbon

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Wan K., Zhang T., Wang H., et al. (2025). Encapsulation of Ni nanoparticles in O-doped carbon as chainmail electrocatalyst for alkaline seawater hydrogen evolution. The Innovation Materials 3:100148. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-mater.2025.100148

Wan K., Zhang T., Wang H., et al. (2025). Encapsulation of Ni nanoparticles in O-doped carbon as chainmail electrocatalyst for alkaline seawater hydrogen evolution. The Innovation Materials 3:100148. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-mater.2025.100148

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Encapsulation of Ni nanoparticles in O-doped carbon as chainmail electrocatalyst for alkaline seawater hydrogen evolution

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Encapsulation of Ni nanoparticles in O-doped carbon as chainmail electrocatalyst for alkaline seawater hydrogen evolution

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