A Facile and Robust Method for Synthesis of Hierarchically Multibranched PtIrCo Alloyed Nanowires: Growth Mechanism and Efficient Electrocatalysis for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

With the growing demand for clean and alternative energy sources, rational design and fabrication of advanced nanocatalysts are significant for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Three-dimensional (3D) multibranched PtIrCo alloyed nanowires (MBNWs) with rough surfaces were prepared by using glucose and oleylamine (OAm) as the co-reducing agents in an oil bath, in which cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) behaved as a structure-directing agent. Benefiting from the unique structures, strong electronic interactions and synergistic impacts of the trimetals, the as-fabricated PtIrCo MBNWs exhibited superior HER performance with an overpotential (η) of 24.7 mV at 10 mA cm–2, a Tafel slope of 45.67 mV dec–1, and the exchange current density (j0) of 3.20 mA cm–2 in 1.0 M KOH solution, surpassing that of commercial Pt/C catalyst. This work demonstrated an innovative strategy for developing multimetallic catalysts in energy storage and transportation.