Stainless steel as an electrocatalyst for overall water splitting under alkaline and neutral conditions

The development process for an effective catalyst for electrochemical water splitting must consider properties such as chemical and mechanical stability, corrosion resistance, and abundance alongside efficiency. In this work, a detailed electrochemical evaluation of four types of commercially available AISI stainless steel (302, 304, 316, and 321) was performed for their electrocatalytic activity, stability, and corrosion resistance in overall water splitting under alkaline (pH 14.00) and near-neutral conditions (pH 6.26). Using AISI plates directly as an anode or cathode, a current density of 10 mA cm-2 was obtained at η≈0.38 V for OER and η≈0.43 V for HER in 1M KOH. Although all of the tested types have proved to be efficient electrocatalysts, detailed electrochemical studies have distinguished certain differences between the AISI types, depending mainly on the composition peculiarities. A detailed corrosion evaluation has revealed that although all measured stainless steels are sensitive to the oxidative environment, their corrosion rate does not exceed 3.3 µm per year.