Spark plasma sintered catalytic nickel-copper alloy and carbon nanotube electrodes for the hydrogen evolution reaction

We report the proof-of-concept of spark plasma sintered (SPS) consolidated mesoporous composite catalytic electrodes based on nickel-copper alloys and carbon nanotubes for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media. The optimized electrode (203 m2 g-1, 5 wt% Ni75Cu25) operated at -0.1 A cm-2 (current of -0.15 A) for 24 h with a stable overpotential of about 0.3 V. This newly described freestanding SPS approach allows the rational control of specific surface area, metal loading, and electrocatalytic performance, thus opening a new route to catalytic electrodes with controllable physical and catalytic properties. This work provides a new strategy to synthesize a library of robust electrocatalytic electrodes containing nickel-copper alloys and carbon nanotubes for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Automated summary

This study presents the proof-of-concept of spark plasma sintered (SPS) consolidated mesoporous composite catalytic electrodes for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media. The optimized electrode exhibited stable overpotential and controllable physical and catalytic properties. This work provides a new strategy for synthesizing robust electrocatalytic electrodes for the hydrogen evolution reaction.