Effect of Ni-Al Precursor Alloy on the Catalytic Activity for a Raney-Ni Cathode

Raney‐Ni cathodes were prepared by leaching aluminum from Ni‐Al precursor alloys . The catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction was investigated in 1 M NaOH at 303 K. The hydrogen overpotentials of Raney‐Ni electrodes obtained from and were lower than those from nickel rich alloys (NiAl and ). Especially, yielded the most active Raney‐Ni cathode. This is because the fast aluminum leaching from phase gives large surface area of the electrode, the formation of small micropores, and the appearance of the Ni phase. © 2000 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.