Electrocatalytic activity of Ni nanowires prepared by galvanic electrodeposition for hydrogen evolution reaction

We describe an electrochemical method to prepare Ni nanowires and Ni thin film into porous alumina templates sputtered by Au and onto Au foil as well as their electrocatalytic activity of them for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). SEM results demonstrated that the Ni nanowires were composed of uniform size with a diameter of ca. 200 nm and a length of about 20 mu m, exhibiting an aspect ratio of 100. The Ni nanowires were then employed for the electrocatalysis of HER reactions and showed superior catalytic activities. four times higher than that of Ni thin film when the overpotential of -1.3 V was applied in alkaline water electrolysis. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.