Surface characterization of electrosynthesized Nickel Hexacyanoferrate and other Prussian Blue Analogues

Prussian Blue Analogues (PBAs) are a class of inorganic compounds characterized by a porous, open and three-dimensional framework and that present several important electrochemical properties. In this work, a potentiodynamic protocol was adopted to synthesize nickel hexacyanoferrate films on a porous and low-cost substrate, Ni-foam. Performance of such films on Ni-foam as electrocatalysts in Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) was studied and evaluated – as development of cheap yet active OER catalysts is crucial for hydrogen production from the water splitting reaction. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was employed to study electrodeposited NiHCF films and a set of PBAs powders, which included both hexacyanoferrates and nitroprussides. This other last piece of work was valuable in finding out interesting features about plausible degradation process and structural differences in PBAs.