Graphene-derived materials are an excellent electrode for electrochemical detection of heavy metals. In this study, a MnO2/ graphene supported on Ni foam electrode was prepared via ultrasonic impregnation and electrochemical deposition. The resulting electrode was used to detect Pb(II) in the aquatic environment. The graphene and MnO2 deposited on the Ni foam not only improved active surface area, but also promoted the electron transfer. The electrochemical performance towards Pb(II) was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The prepared electrode exhibited lower limit of detection (LOD, 0.2 μM (S/N = 3)) and good sensitivity (59.9 μAμM−1) for Pb(II) detection. Moreover, the prepared electrodes showed good stability and reproducibility. This excellent performance can be attributed to the strong adhesion force between graphene and MnO2, which provides compact structures for the enhancement of the mechanical stability. Thus, these combined results provide some technical considerations and scientific insights for the detection of heavy metal ions using composite electrodes.

Environmental issues such as global warming due to fossil fuel use are now major worldwide concerns, and interest in renewable and clean energy is growing. Of the various types of renewable energy, green hydrogen energy has recently attracted attention because of its eco-friendly and high-energy density. Electrochemical water splitting is considered a pollution-free means of producing clean hydrogen and oxygen and in large quantities. The development of non-noble electrocatalysts with low cost and high performance in water splitting has also attracted considerable attention. In this study, we successfully synthesized a NiCo2O4/NF electrode for an oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline water splitting using a hydrothermal method, which was followed by post-heat treatment. The effects of heat treatment on the electrochemical performance of the electrodes were evaluated under different heat-treatment conditions. The optimized NCO/NF-300 electrode showed an overpotential of 416 mV at a high current density of 50 mA/cm2 and a low Tafel slope (49.06 mV dec-1). It also showed excellent stability (due to the large surface area) and the lowest charge transfer resistance (12.59 Ω). The results suggested that our noble-metal free electrodes have great potential for use in developing alkaline electrolysis systems.

Ni–Cr–Al metal-foam-supported catalysts for steam methane reforming (SMR) are manufactured by applying a catalytic Ni/Al2O3 sol–gel coating to powder alloyed metallic foam. The structure, microstructure, mechanical stability, and hydrogen yield efficiency of the obtained catalysts are evaluated. The structural and microstructural characteristics show that the catalyst is well coated on the open-pore Ni–Cr–Al foam without cracks or spallation. The measured compressive yield strengths are 2–3 MPa at room temperature and 1.5–2.2 MPa at 750oC regardless of sample size. The specimens exhibit a weight loss of up to 9–10% at elevated temperature owing to the spallation of the Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. However, the metal-foam-supported catalyst appears to have higher mechanical stability than ceramic pellet catalysts. In SMR simulations tests, a methane conversion ratio of up to 96% is obtained with a high hydrogen yield efficiency of 82%.

The design and fabrication of catalysts with low-cost and high electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have remained challenging because of the sluggish kinetics of this reaction. The key to the pursuit of efficient electrocatalysts is to design them with high surface area and more active sites. In this work, we have successfully synthesized a highly stable and active NiCo2S4 nanowire array on a Ni-foam substrate (NiCo2S4 NW/NF) via a two-step hydrothermal synthesis approach. This NiCo2S4 NW/NF exhibits overpotential as low as 275 mV, delivering a current density of 20 mA cm-2 (versus reversible hydrogen electrode) with a low Tafel slope of 89 mV dec-1 and superior long-term stability for 20 h in 1M KOH electrolyte. The outstanding performance is ascribed to the inherent activity of the binder-free deposited, vertically aligned nanowire structure, which provides a large number of electrochemically active surface sites, accelerating electron transfer, and simultaneously enhancing the diffusion of electrolyte.

In order to develop a process for manufacturing a composite structure of an intermetallic compound foam and a hollow material, the firing and pore form of the Al-Ni precursor in a steel pipe are investigated. When the Al-Ni precursor is foamed in a hollow pipe, if the temperature distribution inside the precursor is uneven, the pore shape distribution becomes uneven. In free foaming, no anisotropy is observed in the foaming direction and the pore shape is isotropic. However, in the hollow pipe, the pipe expands in the pipe axis direction and fills the pipe. The interfacial adhesion between Al3Ni foam and steel pipe is excellent, and interfacial pore and reaction layer are not observed by SEM. In free foaming, the porosity is 90 %, but it decreases to about 80 % in the foam in the pipe. In the pipe foaming, most of the pore shape appears elongated in the pipe direction in the vicinity of the pipe, and this tendency is more remarkable when the inside pipe diameter is small. It can be seen that the pore size of the foam sample in the pipe is larger than that of free foam, because coarse pores remain after solidification of the foam because the shape of the foam is supported by the pipe. The vertical/horizontal length ratio expands along the pipe axis direction by foaming in the pipe, and therefore circularity is reduced.