Ternary alloy nanocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction

Abstract

Cu–Fe–Ni ternary alloys (size ∼55–80 nm) with varying compositions viz. CuFeNi (A1), CuFe₂Ni (A2) and CuFeNi₂ (A3) were successfully synthesized using microemulsion. It is to be noted that synthesis of nanocrystalline ternary alloys with precise composition is a big challenge which can be overcome by choosing an appropriate microemulsion system. High electrocatalytic activity towards HER in alkaline medium was achieved by the formation of alloys of metals with low and high binding energies. A high value of current density (228 mA cm²) at an overpotential of 545 mV was obtained for CuFeNi (A1), which is significantly high as compared to the previously reported Ni₅₉Cu₄₁ alloy catalyst.