Abstract
Alkaline electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are important for applications requiring long lifetime and strong catalytic activity. We have successfully synthesized Pt/NiCo@C nanoarchitectonics by a simple solvothermal approach using a box furnace. To develop the carbon matrix on the metal surface, trimesic acid was used as a carbon source at a high temperature of 750 °C in an N2 gas atmosphere. The electrical structure of the Pt-based alloy was significantly changed by the carbon matrix, which also improved the electron transport and electrocatalytic activity. In particular, the Pt/NiCo@C alloy demonstrated excellent HER performance in a 1.0 M KOH electrolyte, with a low overpotential of 48 mV required to achieve 10 mA cm−2 current density. In addition, it showed a fast kinetic response of 130 mV dec−1 when the Tafel slope was calculated. Importantly, the Pt/NiCo@C alloy demonstrated remarkable durability, with a minimum voltage loss at 10 mA cm−2 constant current density for up to 25 h of chronopotential run. This work provides some useful guidance for the synthesis of multimetal catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion.
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