Nanoporous AlMnYNiCoAu Catalysts for Hydrogen Evolution

An effective method based on hybridization strategy and de-alloying nanoporosity is reported for increasing the electrocatalytic activity of metallic glasses (MGs) in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Based on the alloying of noble Au, the electrochemical performance reaches the maximum at 3 at. % Au addition. An overpotential as low as 124 mV at 10 mA·cm–2 and a Tafel slope of 69 mV·dec–1 are achieved. Such a superior catalytic performance is attributed to the large specific surface area with abundant active sites and low charge-transfer resistance. It is interesting to note that the Au3 sample has large mixing entropy, which is derived from sluggish atomic diffusion, and forms thin nanoligaments during de-alloying and thus exhibits a large specific surface area. The present work could lead to an approach to further develop environmentally friendly amorphous electrocatalysts with high efficiency and excellent stability for HER in alkaline solution.