The role of individual nickel surface species in the hydrogen evolution reaction on nickel in alkaline electrolytes

The role of individual nickel surface species in the hydrogen evolution reaction on nickel in alkaline electrolytes | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The role of individual nickel surface species in the hydrogen evolution reaction on nickel in alkaline electrolytes Dzevad Kozlica, Matjaž Finšgar, Pedro Farinazzo Bergamo Dias Martins, and 11 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7285662/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The role of Ni surface species in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under alkaline conditions remains a key challenge in the development of cost-effective and efficient catalysts for sustainable hydrogen production. Here, we systematically investigate well-defined Ni surfaces through carefully designed experiments to unravel the contributions of specific Ni species (NiO, Ni(OH)2, and NiHx) to HER kinetics. Using detailed electrochemical and surface characterization, combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we demonstrate that NiO, contrary to a body of literature, acts as a passive spectator, blocking active sites without altering intrinsic activity; NiHx inhibits HER by modifying the electronic structure of Ni; and Ni(OH)2 promotes HER by facilitating water dissociation and creating new, highly active sites in its vicinity on metallic Ni. Our findings establish a unified framework for understanding the intrinsic activity of Ni-based catalysts, addressing discrepancies in the literature and providing insights into the design of next-generation alkaline water electrolyzers. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Electrochemistry/Electrocatalysis Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for energy and catalysis/Electrocatalysis Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryRolesofNiinHERfinal.docx Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7285662","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":503579990,"identity":"701c913f-618e-4cad-bb0c-47652911aa0e","order_by":0,"name":"Dzevad Kozlica","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1246-5692","institution":"National Institute of Chemistry","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dzevad","middleName":"","lastName":"Kozlica","suffix":""},{"id":503579991,"identity":"a35703d8-5dfb-43df-be9c-39b13fe7d5eb","order_by":1,"name":"Matjaž Finšgar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of 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