Interface Nanoengineering of PdNi-S/C Nanowires by Sulfite-Induced for Enhancing Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

The interfacial structural design of materials in nanoscale is a promising approach to regulate the physicochemical properties of materials and further optimize material properties for a variety of potential applications. Herein, PdNi-S/C nanowires with inductive sulfite has been successfully crafted through hydrothermal synthesis and applied as a superior hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst. Based on the autocatalytic mechanism, PdNi alloy nanoparticles were synthesized by controlling reduction kinetics with the presence of formic acid. Meanwhile, the sulfite is selected as an effective inductive agent to form PdNi-S/C nanowires with amorphous interfaces. The morphology, composition, and electronic structure of the synthesized PdNi-S/C were studied in detail. The PdNi-S/C manifests excellent HER performance in alkaline solution with an overpotentials of 67 mV at current density of 10 mA cm–2, a Tafel slope of 69.4 mV dec–1, and significantly long-term durability. The improvement of HER performance of the PdNi-S/C is attributed to the one-dimensional nanowire structure, abundant sulfur vacancies and defects, and the synergistic effect between PdNi-S nanowires with the graphite carbon. Furthermore, this present work offers a novel method for structure adjustment of materials to effectively control their property and catalytic performance.