Oxygen evolution on electrodes of different roughness: an electrochemical noise study

Rough and porous Ni layers have been obtained by cathodic deposition from a NiCl₂, NH₄Cl solution, at high current density. Characterisation by SEM has shown that they consisted of micro-dendrites separated by pores with a typical diameter of 1 m. In addition, circular hollows (10–100 m in diameter) were found on the deposit surface; their density varied with the deposition current density and deposition charge. The surface roughness of the Ni deposits, measured by EIS, was found to increase roughly linearly with the deposition charge, and to be little dependent on current density, provided a threshold value was exceeded. The oxygen evolution reaction has been studied on these electrodes by simultaneous real-time measurements of potential and electrolyte resistance fluctuations. The analysis of the electrochemical noise indicated that the dimensions of oxygen bubbles detaching from the electrodes slightly increased with the deposit surface roughness. It is not clear, however, whether or not this increase was associated with the effect of the small (1 m) or the large (10–100 m) features on the electrode-bubble interactions.