Abstract: The spinel-type NiFe2O4 powders have been synthesized by a hydroxide co-precipitation method. The Ni/NiFe2O4 composite coating was prepared through electro-deposition in Watt nickel plating by adding some NiFe2O4 powders. The optimized plating conditions for the composite electro-deposition were investigated by varying parameters, such as the plating solution pH and the cathode current density jk. The composition and structure of the Ni/NiFe2O4 composite coating were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy X-ray diffraction(XRD) and dispersive spectrometer(EDS). The results show that the NiFe2O4 mass content in the Ni/NiFe2O4 composite coating is the highest(55.15%) at optimized plating conditions of a solution pH=5.8～6.0 and a cathodic current density jk=40×10-3～60×10-3 A/cm2. In 5 mol/L KOH solution, the electro-catalytic properties towards the oxygen evolution reaction(OER) of the Ni/NiFe2O4 composite electrode was studied using cyclic voltammetry, steady-state polarization, and chronoamperometry. Compared with the nickel electrode, the electro-catalytic properties towards OER of the Ni/NiFe2O4 electrode is higher and the apparent activation energy is decreased by 62.07 kJ/mol, and its specific surface area is 23.02 times as large as that of the nickel electrode. The constant-potential electrolysis with long time for OER shows that the stability of the Ni/NiFe2O4 composite electrode is good.

Key words: Composite electro-deposition, Ni/NiFe2O4, Oxygen evolution reaction, Electro-catalysis