Ni₃Co/G alloy as an earth-abundant robust and stable electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Herein, a noble-metal-free robust and efficient graphene-supported Ni₃Co alloy electrocatalyst was fabricated for the hydrogen evolution reaction. The synthesized nanoalloy was constructed from earth-abundant and low-cost components; it exhibited excellent performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction in an alkaline medium with a small overpotential of 95 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and a Tafel slope of 104 mV dec⁻¹, which are quite impressive. Moreover, the extraordinary durability of the current shown by the Ni₃Co/G alloy during 16 h chronopotentiometric study without any decay deserves notable attention.