Flower-like nickel oxide (NiO) catalysts were coated on NiCrAl alloy foam using a hydrothermal method. The structural, morphological, and chemical bonding properties of the NiO catalysts coated on the NiCrAl alloy foam were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, Xray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. To obtain flower-like morphology of NiO catalysts on the NiCrAl alloy foam, we prepared three different levels of pH of the hydrothermal solution: pH-7.0, pH-10.0, and pH-11.5. The NiO morphology of the pH-7.0 and pH-10.0 samples exhibited a large size plate owing to the slow reaction of the hydroxide (OH−) and nickel ions (Ni+) in lower pH than pH-11.5. Flower-like NiO catalysts (~4.7 μm-6.6 μm) were formed owing to the fast reaction of OH− and Ni2+ by increased OH− concentration at high pH. Thus, the flower-like morphology of NiO catalysts on NiCrAl alloy foam depends strongly on the pH of the hydrothermal solution.

NiO catalysts/Al2O3/FeCrAl alloy foam for hydrogen production was prepared using atomic layer deposition (ALD)and subsequent dip-coating methods. FeCrAl alloy foam and Al2O3 inter-layer were used as catalyst supports. To improve thedispersion and stability of NiO catalysts, an Al2O3 inter-layer was introduced and their thickness was systematically controlledto 0, 20, 50 and 80nm using an ALD technique. The structural, chemical bonding and morphological properties (includingdispersion) of the NiO catalysts/Al2O3/FeCrAl alloy foam were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectronspectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy. Inparticular, to evaluate the stability of the NiO catalysts grown on Al2O3/FeCrAl alloy foam, chronoamperometry tests wereperformed and then the ingredient amounts of electrolytes were analyzed via inductively coupled plasma spectrometer. We foundthat the introduction of Al2O3 inter-layer improved the dispersion and stability of the NiO catalysts on the supports. Thus, whenan Al2O3 inter-layer with a 80nm thickness was grown between the FeCrAl alloy foam and the NiO catalysts, it indicatedimproved dispersion and stability of the NiO catalysts compared to the other samples. The performance improvement can beexplained by optimum thickness of Al2O3 inter-layer resulting from the role of a passivation layer.

NiO catalysts were successfully coated onto FeCrAl metal alloy foam as a catalyst support via a dip-coating method. To demonstrate the optimum amount of NiO catalyst on the FeCrAl metal alloy foam, the molar concentration of the Ni precursor in a coating solution was controlled, with five different amounts of 0.4 M, 0.6 M, 0.8 M, 1.0 M, and 1.2 M for a dip-coating process. The structural, morphological, and chemical bonding properties of the NiO-catalyst-coated FeCrAl metal alloy foam samples were assessed by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy(SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction(XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). In particular, when the FeCrAl metal alloy foam samples were coated using a coating solution with a 0.8 M Ni precursor, well-dispersed NiO catalysts on the FeCrAl metal alloy foam compared to the other samples were confirmed. Also, the XPS results exhibited the chemical bonding states of the NiO phases and the FeCrAl metal alloy foam. The results showed that a dip-coating method is one of best ways to coat well-dispersed NiO catalysts onto FeCrAl metal alloy foam.