Functional cobalt-vanadium coatings deposition via programmed electrolysis mode

The electrocatalytic activity of a cobalt-vanadium alloy coating in the hydrogen evolution reaction was investigated. The cobalt-vanadium coating is electrodeposited from a complex citrate electrolyte via pulse electrolysis modes. According to the results of the X-ray dispersive spectrometry, the resulting coating contains 0.2–1.0 mass % vanadium. It is found that on a cathode with a Co-V coating, the overvoltage in the hydrogen evolution reaction is 0.15-0.2 V lower, and the exchange current is higher than on a cobalt coated electrode. As the vanadium content in the alloy increases, the value of the hydrogen evolution overvoltage decreases. This indicates the electrocatalytic activity of the vanadium-containing materials in the hydrogen evolution reaction. The microhardness of the Co-V coating is higher, than that of the cobalt coating. Electrodes coated with Co-V can be recommended as cathodes for the electrochemical production of hydrogen, since the energy consumption of this process is reduced by 10-15 %.