ELECTRODE COMPARISON
INFORMATIONALElectroless and Sputtered / PVD
Different deposition routes have different equipment, throughput, and coverage characteristics on porous substrates like Ni foam. This page summarizes the factual differences without claiming superiority either way.
Our electrode polarization
TESTBEDOur electrode in numbers
HER overpotential
@ 100 mA/cm² (no IR)
OER overpotential
@ 100 mA/cm² (no IR)
Cell @ 0.5 A/cm², 60 °C
91.4% efficiency
1000-hour drift
@ 0.5 A/cm² / 40 °C
All measured in a 5 cm² AEM cell, 30 wt% KOH, zero-gap, commercial Zirfon separator (500 µm).
Side-by-side: our electrode and Sputtered / PVD Catalyst Layers
Factual differentiation only. No fabricated numeric claims about alternatives; consult their vendor data for performance comparison.
| Parameter | Our electrode | Sputtered / PVD Catalyst Layers | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process type | Electroless (autocatalytic, solution-based) | Physical vapor deposition (sputter, e-beam) | Different physics |
| External power needed during deposition | No | Yes (plasma, magnetron, or evaporation source) | Different equipment |
| Substrate environment | Liquid bath at modest temperature | Vacuum chamber | Different fab requirements |
| Coverage on porous Ni foam | Conformal across 3D pore network | Line-of-sight, may need substrate rotation | Geometry-dependent |
| Substrate area range we use | 100 to 1000 cm2 | Depends on chamber size | Hardware-dependent |
Our process: electroless deposition
We produce our bi-metallic NiCo catalyst layer by electroless deposition. The Ni-foam substrate is immersed in a solution containing metal precursors and reducing agents; deposition occurs on the substrate surface as the reaction proceeds. No external electrical current is applied during deposition.
Electroless deposition is well-suited to coating the internal three-dimensional pore network of Ni foam because the solution wets the entire structure. The same process is applied to substrates from 100 to 1000 cm2.
Sputtered / PVD deposition
Sputter deposition (a form of physical vapor deposition, PVD) uses a plasma in a vacuum chamber to dislodge atoms from a target material; the atoms then deposit onto a substrate. E-beam evaporation is another PVD route. Both are well-established for thin-film catalyst layers in some research and commercial contexts.
PVD methods typically produce dense, low-porosity films and are generally line-of-sight, meaning the substrate must be rotated or repositioned to coat 3D structures uniformly. Vacuum chambers limit substrate size to what fits.
Conformality on porous Ni foam
Electroless deposition produces a conformal coating across the internal pore network of Ni foam because the precursor solution penetrates the porosity. Sputtered films are line-of-sight; achieving conformal coverage of a porous foam requires either special substrate handling or accepting non-uniform internal coverage.
For the published 80 mV HER / 260 mV OER performance on our bifunctional NiCo electrode, the conformal electroless coating across Ni foam is what we have characterized.
Which to choose
Process choice depends on the substrate, the catalyst chemistry, the desired film morphology, and the production scale. We use electroless deposition for our bi-metallic NiCo on Ni foam product. For applications requiring dense thin films on flat substrates, PVD routes may be more appropriate.
Where this comparison matters
Applications where stack OEMs typically evaluate both options.
Key electrode specifications
Source-supported parameters of our electrode for this comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Does this page claim our electrode performs better than Sputtered / PVD Catalyst Layers?
No. This page is informational. It states what our bifunctional NiCo electrode is and what the alternative is, using source-supported facts only. We do not publish numeric performance claims against specific alternative products. For alternative-product performance data, consult the vendor of that product directly.
What numbers are published for our electrode?
HER overpotential 80 mV and OER overpotential 260 mV at 100 mA/cm² in 30 wt% KOH, measured without IR correction. Cell-level performance with the bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides and a commercial Zirfon separator (500 µm) in a 5 cm² AEM zero-gap cell: 0.5 A/cm² at 1.81 V at RT (82% efficiency) and 1.62 V at 60 °C (91.4%). 1000-hour stability at 21 µV/hr drift.
Can I run side-by-side bench tests in my own cell?
Yes. We supply 5 cm² coupons that match the size used in our published AEM test cell. Stack OEMs evaluating both options typically run side-by-side qualification on their own cell as the decision step. Bench-scale and pilot-scale electrodes (up to 1000 cm²) are both available.
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