Cathode for the electrolytic production of hydrogen
AssigneeSolvay & Cie
InventorEdgard Nicolas
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Abstract
The invention relates to a cathode for the electrolytic production of hydrogen. The cathode comprises an active surface consisting of a metal oxide obtained by the thermal decomposition of a thermally decomposable compound of a metal chosen from amongst cobalt, iron, manganese or nickel. The cathode is particularly suitable for the electrolysis of aqueous sodium chloride solutions in cells with a permeable diaphragm.
Claims10
In a process for the production of hydrogen in an electrolytic cell, wherein hydrogen is electrolytically produced on the active zone of a cathode, the improvement consisting in that the cathode active zone essentially consists of a metal oxide produced by the thermal decomposition of a thermally decomposable compound of a metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt, iron, maganese and nickel, said metal oxide being produced in situ on a support made of an electrically conducting material selected from the group consisting of cobalt, chromium, iron, maganese, nickel and alloys of these metals.
In a process for the production of hydrogen, wherein hydrogen is electrolytically produced on the active zone of a cathode, the improvement in that the cathode active zone consists essentially of iron oxide produced by applied to a cathode support comprising a mild steel gauze, a thermally decomposable compound of iron, heating said support with said compound thereon in an oxidizing atmosphere to convert said compound into an oxide and repeating said applying and heating steps to form on said support an oxide coating having a thickness of at least 10 microns.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.