Enhancing the efficiency of the hydrogen evolution reaction utilising Fe3P bulk modified screen-printed electrodes via the application of a magnetic field

Jack P Hughes; Samuel Rowley-Neale; Craig Banks

doi:10.1039/d0ra10150h

Enhancing the efficiency of the hydrogen evolution reaction utilising Fe₃P bulk modified screen-printed electrodes via the application of a magnetic field

RSC Adv. 2021 Feb 18;11(14):8073-8079. doi: 10.1039/d0ra10150h. eCollection 2021 Feb 17.

Authors

Jack P Hughes^{1

2}, Samuel Rowley-Neale^{1

2}, Craig Banks^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University Chester Street Manchester M1 5GD UK c.banks@mmu.ac.uk +44 (0)1612476831 +44 (0)1612471196.
² Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University Chester Street Manchester M1 5GD UK S.Rowley-Neale@mmu.ac.uk.

Abstract

We report the fabrication and optimisation of Fe₃P bulk modified screen-printed electrochemical platforms (SPEs) for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) within acidic media. We optimise the achievable current density towards the HER of the Fe₃P SPEs by utilising ball-milled Fe₃P variants and increasing the mass percentage of Fe₃P incorporated into the SPEs. Additionally, the synergy of the application of a variable weak (constant) external magnetic field (330 mT to 40 mT) beneficially augments the current density output by 56%. This paper not only highlights the benefits of physical catalyst optimisation but also demonstrates a methodology to further enhance the cathodic efficiency of the HER with the facile application of a weak (constant) magnetic field.