Advanced catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction by dealloying Al-based nanocrystalline alloys

Abstract Developing advanced catalysts for water splitting is the kernel in hydrogen clean-energy technologies. In this paper, an Al82Ni6Co3Mn3Y3Au3 nanocrystalline ribbon is dealloyed as the catalyst in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which exhibits outstanding catalytic activity in acidic solution. Its overpotential is about 24 mV @ 10 mA cm−2 and the Tafel slope is about 43 mV dec−1, which are comparable to commercial noble Pt/C electrodes (30 mV @ 10 mA cm−2 and 28 mV dec−1). Such a superior catalytic performance is attributed to the large specific surface area and low charger transferring resistivity of the dealloyed nanocrystalline electrode. The hybrid nanoporous structures composed of nanoporosity and nanoparticles of Au-Ni-Co-Mn-Y alloys and the synergic effects among the multiple components are desirable in catalysts. These results suggest that nanocrystalline multicomponent alloys are promising precursors for fabricating advanced HER catalysts.