Metallurgically prepared NiCu alloys as cathode materials for hydrogen evolution reaction

Ni-Cu bimetallic alloys with Cu content of 5;10, 20, 30 and 50 wt% are prepared by powder metallurgy method, which consisted of powder mixing, pressing and sintering processes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement confirms that all the five Ni-Cu alloys possess the f.c.c. structure. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of the prepared Ni-Cu alloy electrodes was studied in 6 M KOH solution by cathodic current-potential curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. It was found that the electrocatalytic activity for the HER depended on the composition of Ni-Cu alloys, where Ni-10Cu alloy exhibited considerably higher HER activity than Ni plate and other Ni-Cu alloys, indicative of its chemical composition related intrinsic activity. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.