Iron-nickel foam is an open-cell metal foam whose starting metal is a nickel–iron alloy. It is not the same as nickel foam, and it is not the same as a nickel–iron catalyst layer grown on nickel foam. Buyers and papers often use “NiFe foam” or “Ni–Fe foam” for both of those things. A useful enquiry names the starting sheet first, then records composition, PPI, thickness and the job the part has to do. This guide covers how the alloy foam differs from nickel foam, how to read published results, and what to send for a quotation. It is not a ranking claim or a list of fixed HuiRui catalogue numbers.
Name the starting material first
A drawing that says only “NiFe foam” still leaves the starting metal ambiguous:
- Iron-nickel foam is an open-cell foam made from a nickel–iron alloy, also called Ni–Fe foam or Fe–Ni foam. HuiRui lists this material as iron nickel, with an electroplating-sintering process, and sizes discussed to the enquiry. The nickel-to-iron ratio is not a single implied standard; it is confirmed per enquiry. Product context: iron-nickel foam.
- Nickel foam is a different starting metal. The usual PPI, thickness and porosity language still applies, but it does not make the two foams interchangeable on a purchase order. See the nickel foam PPI guide, the nickel foam manufacturing guide, and the nickel foam product page. For alkaline electrolysis framing, see nickel foam substrates for alkaline water electrolysis.
- A nickel–iron layer on nickel foam is a treated nickel-foam electrode, not an alloy-foam sheet. Many oxygen-evolution papers start with nickel foam and deposit a NiFe coating on it. That finished electrode should be specified as nickel foam plus the coating or treatment, unless the substrate itself is the alloy.
Fiber felt, woven mesh and sintered multilayer mesh are different constructions and use different specification fields; see how to specify nickel foam, felt or mesh. If you are still choosing the electrolyzer type, ALK, PEM, AEM and SOEC outlines where nickel and other materials typically appear.
HuiRui also lists a shaped iron-nickel product for aluminum water filtration. A filtration enquiry should state the separation duty, the fluid, and how retention will be checked. Those fields are not interchangeable with an electrode specification.
How papers use iron-nickel foam
As a commercial alloy-foam starting sheet that is then modified. Zhou et al. (2022) started from purchased Ni–Fe foam and then plated zinc and dealloyed the surface to form a hierarchical nanoporous layer. In their alkaline oxygen-evolution tests they compared that treated electrode with the untreated Ni–Fe foam and with a commercial iridium-oxide reference; the treated electrode was more active in that study. The voltages they reported belong to those prepared electrodes and test protocols, not to as-supplied foam and not to HuiRui products. The practical point is that a treated laboratory electrode should not be ordered as if it were the as-received sheet.
As a starting foam whose surface is changed by corrosion. Sun et al. (2021) corroded iron-nickel foam in hydrochloric acid to form amorphous FeNi (oxy)hydroxide nanosheets, then tested those surfaces for oxygen evolution in alkaline electrolyte. Their result is about a treated surface, including the Fe/Ni ratio after corrosion in that work, not a performance rating for untreated foam.
As an oxygen-evolution electrode in its own right. Liang et al. (2015) report nickel–iron foam used as a three-dimensional oxygen evolution electrode. The paper is cited here for that use of the alloy foam. No process settings or performance numbers are taken from it as HuiRui claims.
The contrast with coated nickel foam. Lu and Zhao (2015) electrodeposited a nickel–iron composite onto nickel foam and tested that electrode for alkaline oxygen evolution at high current density. The starting sheet in that work is nickel foam, not iron-nickel alloy foam. If a methods section says “nickel foam” and then describes a NiFe deposit, the enquiry should still name nickel foam plus the coating, not iron-nickel foam, unless the substrate itself is the alloy.
None of these papers sets a single “correct” nickel-to-iron ratio, PPI or thickness for every design.
What to specify (and what not to copy)
Composition. Give the nickel-to-iron ratio, the weight or atomic percentages, or the alloy designation your project already uses, if you have one. Do not assume that “iron-nickel foam” implies one standard composition, or that two alloy foams with the same PPI are interchangeable if their compositions differ.
PPI, pore size and porosity. PPI is a pore-count convention, not a guaranteed opening size or a filtration rating. State the counting or measurement method if you already have one. Porosity, or areal mass, should be listed as a separate entry; two foams can share a similar porosity and still differ in cell size. The nickel foam PPI guide explains this language for foam in general; it still applies when the metal is a nickel–iron alloy.
Thickness. State the finished thickness and whether it is as-supplied or after rolling, pressing or installation. A thickness value should keep that processing context.
Role in the cell or process. Say whether the sheet is a bare electrode, a current collector, a substrate that will carry a coating or catalyst, or a filtration or other duty. Zhou et al. and Sun et al. both changed the surface of a Ni–Fe foam before the result they reported. If you will apply a coating or a further treatment, say so and point to your specification.
Electrolyte and compatibility. State the intended medium if you already know it, for example an alkaline electrolyzer electrolyte or a filtration fluid. The papers above tested particular alkaline or corrosion conditions. Compatibility has to be assessed for the full cell or process; it cannot be inferred from the product name.
Sheet size and edges. Give length × width or a cut-part drawing, plus any flatness, edge or tab requirement you already have, and whether you need samples first.
Do not treat a catalogue row as a verified performance figure. Product pages may list illustrative ranges for quotation discussion, such as thickness, PPI, porosity, density or strength. Those figures are not verified cell current-density, lifetime, heat-transfer or composition results, and they are not copied here as company facts. Composition, dimensions and thickness condition are confirmed per enquiry.
Iron-nickel foam and nickel foam: a quick comparison
| Form | Starting metal | What to specify first |
|---|---|---|
| Iron-nickel foam | Nickel–iron alloy foam | Composition if known, PPI and its method, thickness (as-supplied or after processing), porosity or areal mass if known, cut size, bare or coated, duty |
| Nickel foam | Nickel foam | PPI and its method, thickness, porosity or areal mass if known, cut size, bare or coated (43373) |
| NiFe layer on nickel foam | Nickel foam plus a NiFe deposit or treatment | The foam specification plus the coating or treatment (see Lu and Zhao, 2015, for that laboratory route) |
A treated Ni–Fe foam that performed well in one published cell is not a specification for as-supplied alloy foam, and it is not a reason to substitute nickel foam on the drawing.
What to send for a quote
You do not need a complete laboratory list to contact HuiRui. A sketch, a drawing, or an approximate size and duty is enough to start. The items below help when you already have them:
- The job: electrode or current collector, catalyst substrate, filtration, or another use.
- The starting material: iron-nickel alloy foam, nickel foam, or nickel foam plus a coating or treatment.
- Composition if your project already names a nickel-to-iron ratio or alloy designation.
- PPI and its counting method if known, and/or a pore-size description and how it will be checked.
- Thickness, and whether that number is as-supplied or after rolling, pressing or installation.
- Target porosity or areal mass if you already have one.
- Cut size or blank size, quantity, and whether you need samples first.
- Bare or coated; if coated, the type and which face(s), or a pointer to your specification. Include the electrolyte or process fluid if you already know it—compatibility still has to be assessed for the full system.
We supply iron-nickel foam. Related materials include nickel foam and a shaped iron-nickel product for aluminum water filtration. Composition, dimensions and thickness condition are confirmed per enquiry. Do not treat product-page catalogue ranges, or the literature results above, as verified cell performance for every design. Send the drawing and the items you already know, and we will reply with what we can make.
Related reading: Nickel foam, nickel fiber felt or nickel mesh: how to specify the structure.
References
- T. Zhou, Z. Liu, B. Yang, Z. Cao, Z. Jiang et al., “Dealloying fabrication of hierarchical porous Nickel–Iron foams for efficient oxygen evolution reaction”, Frontiers in Chemistry (2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2022.1047398
- C. Sun, Q. Song, J. Lei, D. Li, L. Li and F. Pan, “Corrosion of Iron-Nickel Foam to In Situ Fabricate Amorphous FeNi (Oxy)hydroxide Nanosheets as Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction”, ACS Applied Energy Materials (2021). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.1c00891
- Y. Liang, Q. Liu, A.M. Asiri, X. Sun and Y. He, “Nickel–iron foam as a three-dimensional robust oxygen evolution electrode with high activity”, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.07.165
- X. Lu and C. Zhao, “Electrodeposition of hierarchically structured three-dimensional nickel–iron electrodes for efficient oxygen evolution at high current densities”, Nature Communications (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7616