Improved Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Performance of Dealloying Fe75-xCoxSi12.5B12.5 Electrocatalyst.

The electrocatalytic performance of a Fe65Co10Si12.5B12.5 Fe-based compounds toward alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is enhanced by dealloying. The dealloying process produced a large number of nanosheets on the surface of NS-Fe65Co10Si12.5B12.5, which greatly increased the specific surface area of the electrode. When the dealloying time is 3 h, the overpotential of NS-Fe65Co10Si12.5B12.5 is only 175.1 mV at 1.0 M KOH and 10 mA cm-2, while under the same conditions, the overpotential of Fe65Co10Si12.5B12.5 is 215 mV, which is reduced. In addition, dealloying treated electrodes also show better HER performance than un-dealloying treated electrodes. With the increase in Co doping amount, the overpotential of the hydrogen evolution reaction decreases, and the hydrogen evolution activity is the best when the addition amount of Co is 10%. This work not only provides a basic understanding of the relationship between surface activity and the dealloying of HER catalysts, but also paves a new way for doping transition metal elements in Fe-based electrocatalysts working in alkaline media.

Water-Etched Porous Ti: Surface Manipulation of Ti Foam Fabricated by Liquid Metal Dealloying Technique.

The liquid metal dealloying (LMD) process enables the fabrication of porous metals with various chemical compositions. Despite its advantages, LMD still faces key challenges such as maintaining the high-temperature molten metal bath for a prolonged time, avoiding the use of toxic etchants, and so on. To overcome these challenges, the study develops a water-leachable and oxidation-resistant alloy melt (AM) in Ca-Mg binary system. Specifically, Ca72Mg28 eutectic AM is designed, which exhibits higher oxidation resistance and lower melting temperature compared to pure Mg, allowing LMD to be conducted in atmospheric conditions as well as temperatures >200 K lower. The AM also enables an innovative process to fabricate Ti foams with a hexagonal faceted surface structure by carefully manipulating the etching rate during the water etching process. This approach allows for the creation of foam with a surface area over 13% larger than that of foams with smooth surfaces via normal acid etching, potentially enhancing efficiency in applications such as electrodes for electrochemical systems or biomedical materials where increased cell adhesion can be beneficial. This study paves the way for efficiently manipulating the LMD process to fabricate metal foams with customized compositions and enhanced surface properties.

Elucidating the Transition of 3D Morphological Evolution of Binary Alloys in Molten Salts with Metal Ion Additives.

Molten salts serve as effective high-temperature heat transfer fluids and thermal storage media used in a wide range of energy generation and storage facilities, including concentrated solar power plants, molten salt reactors and high-temperature batteries. However, at the salt-metal interfaces, a complex interplay of charge-transfer reactions involving various metal ions, generated either as fission products or through corrosion of structural materials, takes place. Simultaneously, there is a mass transport of ions or atoms within the molten salt and the parent alloys. The precise physical and chemical mechanisms leading to the diverse morphological changes in these materials remain unclear. To address this knowledge gap, this work employed a combination of synchrotron X-ray nanotomography and electron microscopy to study the morphological and chemical evolution of Ni-20Cr in molten KCl-MgCl2, while considering the influence of metal ions (Ni2+, Ce3+, and Eu3+) and variations in salt composition. Our research suggests that the interplay between interfacial diffusivity and reactivity determines the morphological evolution. The summary of the associated mass transport and reaction processes presented in this work is a step forward toward achieving a fundamental comprehension of the interactions between molten salts and alloys. Overall, the findings offer valuable insights for predicting the diverse chemical and structural alterations experienced by alloys in molten salt environments, thus aiding in the development of protective strategies for future applications involving molten salts.

Homologous Temperature Regulated Hierarchical Nanoporous Structures by Dealloying.

Nanoporous metals, fabricated via dealloying, offer versatile applications but are typically limited to unimodal porous structures, which hinders the integration of conflicting pore-size-dependent properties. A strategy is presented that exploits the homologous temperature (TH)-dependent scaling of feature sizes to generate hierarchical porous structures through multistep dealloying at varied TH levels, adjusted by altering dealloying temperatures or the material melting points. This technique facilitates the creation of monolithic architectures of bimodal porous nickel and trimodal porous carbon, each characterized by well-defined, self-similar bicontinuous porosities across distinct length scales. These materials merge extensive surface area with efficient mass transport, showing improved current delivery and rate capabilities as electrodes in electrocatalytic hydrogen production and electrochemical supercapacitors. These results highlight TH as a unifying parameter for precisely tailoring feature sizes of dealloyed nanoporous materials, opening avenues for developing materials with hierarchical structures that enable novel functionalities.

Nanoporous copper titanium tin (np-Cu2TiSn) Heusler alloy prepared by dealloying-induced phase transformation for electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia.

Heusler alloys are a series of well-established intermetallic compounds with abundant structure and elemental substitutions, which are considered as potentially valuable catalysts for integrating multiple reactions owing to the features of ordered atomic arrangement and optimized electronic structure. Herein, a nanoporous copper titanium tin (np-Cu2TiSn) Heusler alloy is successfully prepared by the (electro)chemical dealloying transformation method, which exhibits high nitrate (NO3-) reduction performance with an NH3 Faradaic efficiency of 77.14 %, an NH3 yield rate of 11.90 mg h-1 mg-1cat, and a stability for 100 h under neutral condition. Significantly, we also convert NO3- to high-purity ammonium phosphomolybdate with NH4+ collection efficiency of 83.8 %, which suggests a practical approach to convert wastewater nitrate into value-added ammonia products. Experiments and theoretical calculations reveal that the electronic structure of Cu sites is modulated by the ligand effect of surrounding Ti and Sn atoms, which can simultaneously enhance the activation of NO3-, facilitate the desorption of NH3, and reduce the energy barriers, thereby boosting the electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction.

Low-Cost Self-Reconstructed High Entropy Oxide as an Ultra-Durable OER Electrocatalyst for Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer.

Future energy loss can be minimized to a greater extent via developing highly active electrocatalysts for alkaline water electrolyzers. Incorporating an innovative design like high entropy oxides, dealloying, structural reconstruction, in situ activation can potentially reduce the energy barriers between practical and theoretical potentials. Here, a Fd-3m spinel group high entropy oxide is developed via a simple solvothermal and calcination approach. The developed (FeCoMnZnMg)3O4 electrocatalyst shows a near equimolar distribution of all the metal elements resulting in higher entropy (ΔS ≈1.61R) and higher surface area. The self-reconstructed spinel high entropy oxide (S-HEO) catalyst exhibited a lower overpotential of 240 mV to reach 10 mA cm-2 and enhanced reaction kinetics (59 mV dec-1). Noticeably, the S-HEO displayed an outstanding durability of 1000 h without any potential loss, significantly outperforming most of the reported OER electrocatalysts. Further, S-HEO is evaluated as the anode catalyst for an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) in 1 m, 0.1 m KOH, and DI water at 20 and 60 °C. These results demonstrate that S-HEO is a highly attractive, non-noble class of materials for high active oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts allowing fine-tuning beyond the limits of bi- or trimetallic oxides.

Multi-Component and Nanoporous Design toward RuO2-Based Electrocatalyst with Enhanced Performance for Acidic Water Splitting.

Developing electrocatalysts with excellent activity and stability for water splitting in acidic media remains a formidable challenge due to the sluggish kinetics and severe dissolution. As a solution, a multi-component doped RuO2 prepared through a process of dealloying-annealing is presented. The resulting multi-doped RuO2 possesses a nanoporous structure, ensuring a high utilization efficiency of Ru. Furthermore, the dopants can regulate the electronic structure, causing electron aggregation around unsaturated Ru sites, which mitigates Ru dissolution and significantly enhances the catalytic stability/activity. The representative catalyst (FeCoNiCrTi-RuO2) shows an overpotential of 167 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 0.5 m H2SO4 solution with a Tafel slope of 53.1 mV dec-1, which is among the highest performance reported. Moreover, it remains stable for over 200 h at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. This work presents a promising approach for improving RuO2-based electrocatalysts, offering a crucial advancement for electrochemical water splitting.

The Influence of the Mechanical Compliance of a Substrate on the Morphology of Nanoporous Gold Thin Films.

Nanoporous gold (np-Au) has found its use in applications ranging from catalysis to biosensing, where pore morphology plays a critical role in performance. While the morphology evolution of bulk np-Au has been widely studied, knowledge about its thin-film form is limited. This work hypothesizes that the mechanical compliance of the thin film substrate can play a critical role in the morphology evolution. Via experimental and finite-element-analysis approaches, we investigate the morphological variation in np-Au thin films deposited on compliant silicone (PDMS) substrates of a range of thicknesses anchored on rigid glass supports and compare those to the morphology of np-Au deposited on glass. More macroscopic (10 s to 100 s of microns) cracks and discrete islands form in the np-Au films on PDMS compared to on glass. Conversely, uniformly distributed microscopic (100 s of nanometers) cracks form in greater numbers in the np-Au films on glass than those on PDMS, with the cracks located within the discrete islands. The np-Au films on glass also show larger ligament and pore sizes, possibly due to higher residual stresses compared to the np-Au/PDMS films. The effective elastic modulus of the substrate layers decreases with increasing PDMS thickness, resulting in secondary np-Au morphology effects, including a reduction in macroscopic crack-to-crack distance, an increase in microscopic crack coverage, and a widening of the microscopic cracks. However, changes in the ligament/pore widths with PDMS thickness are negligible, allowing for independent optimization for cracking. We expect these results to inform the integration of functional np-Au films on compliant substrates into emerging applications, including flexible electronics.

In Situ Construction of Biphasic Boride Electrocatalysts on Dealloyed Bulk Ni-Mo Alloy as Self-Supporting Electrode for Water Splitting at High Current Density.

Nickel-molybdenum-boron (Ni-Mo-B)-based catalysts with biphasic interfaces are highly advantageous in bifunctional electrocatalytic activity in alkaline water-splitting. However, it remains an ongoing challenge to obtain porous Ni-Mo alloy substrates that provide stable adhesion to catalysts, ensuring the long-term performance of bifunctional self-supporting electrodes at a high current density. Herein, a porous Ni-Mo alloy substrate was effectively obtained by a cost-effective dealloying process on a commercial Ni-Mo alloy with high-energy crystal planes. Subsequently, the Mo2NiB2/Ni3B bifunctional catalyst was in situ synthesized on this substrate via boriding heat treatment, resulting in outstanding catalytic activity and stability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the abundant biphasic interfaces and surface-reconstructed sites of the Mo2NiB2/Ni3B catalyst can decrease the energy barriers for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively. Thus, the designed self-supporting electrodes show bifunctional catalytic activity with overpotentials of 151 mV for HER and 260 mV for OER at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Markedly, the assembled water electrolyzer can be driven up to 10 mA cm-2 at 1.64 V and maintain catalytic activity at a high current density of 1000 mA cm-2 for 100 h. The new strategy is expected to provide a low-cost scheme for designing self-supporting bifunctional electrodes with high activity and excellent stability and contribute to the development of hydrogen energy technology.

Electrochemically Dealloying Engineering toward Integrated Monolithic Electrodes with Superior Electrochemical Li-Storage Properties.

Integrated monolithic electrodes (IMEs) free of inactive components demonstrate great potential in boosting energy-power densities and cycling life of lithium-ion batteries. However, their practical applications are significantly limited by low active substance loading (< 4.0 mg cm-2 and 1.0 g cm-3), complicated manufacturing process, and high fabrication cost. Herein, employing industrial Cu-Mn alloy foil as a precursor, a simple neutral salt solution-mediated electrochemical dealloying strategy is proposed to address such problems. The resultant Cu-Mn IMEs achieve not only a significantly larger active material loading due to the in situ generated Cu2O and MnOx (ca. 16.0 mg cm-2 and 1.78 g cm-3), simultaneously fast transport of ions and electrons due to the well-formed nanoporous structure and built-in Cu current collector, but also high structural stability due to the interconnected ligaments and suitable free space to relieve the volume expansion upon lithiation. As a result, they demonstrate remarkable performances including large specific capacities (> 5.7 mAh cm-2), remarkable pseudocapacitive effect despite the battery-type constitutes, long cycling life, and good working condition in a lithium-ion full cell. This study sheds new light on the further development of IMEs, enriches the existing dealloying techniques, and builds a bridge between the two.

Single-step,in-situfabrication of flower-like NiCuMn hybrid oxyhydroxide electrodes for enhanced supercapacitor performance.

The rational design of highly active and low-cost electrode material is very promising for energy storage applications. The development of supercapacitors with high energy/power density is an imperative and challenging research objective. Herein, we report a highly facile synthesis approach for developing unique nano-porous hybrid NiCuMn oxyhydroxide architecture with remarkable electrochemical energy storage characteristics. The process involves dealloying of Ni15Cu15Mn70alloy in an oxygen rich environment, resulting in a uniform 3-dimensional flower like morphology. The dealloyed electrode demonstrates ultra-high specific capacitance of 4110 F cm-3at a high current density of 20 mA cm-2. A symmetric device exhibits a high volumetric capacitance of 365 F cm-3at a current density of 10 mA cm-2with a large potential window of 1.7 V. Even at very high-power density of 850 W l-1, the device exhibits a high energy density of 146 Wh l-1along with remarkable cyclic stability of 95.4% after 10 000 cycles. The superior performance of nano-porous hybrid NiCuMn oxyhydroxide architecture was attributed to its unique microstructure that provides high surface area, and marginal internal resistance ensuring rapid charge transport.

Dealloying-Derived Self-Supporting Nanoporous Zinc Film with Optimized Macro/Microstructure for High-Performance Solar Steam Generation.

Solar steam generation (SSG) is a promising technology for the production of freshwater that can help alleviate global water scarcity. Nanostructured metals, known for their localized surface plasmon resonance effect, have generated significant interest, but low-cost metal films with excellent water evaporation properties are challenging. In this work, we present a one-step dealloying route for fabricating self-supporting black nanoporous zinc (NP-Zn) films with a bicontinuous ligament/channel structure, using Al-Zn solid solution alloys as the precursors. The influence of alloy composition on the formation and macro/microstructure of NP-Zn was investigated, and an optimal Al98Zn2 was selected. Additionally, in situ and ex situ characterizations were conducted to unveil the dealloying mechanism of Al98Zn2 and phase/microstructure evolution of NP-Zn during dealloying, including the phase transition of Al(Zn) → Zn, significant volume shrinkage (89.8%), and the development of high porosity (81.3%). The nanoscale ligament/channel structure and high porosity endow the NP-Zn films with good broadband absorption and superior hydrophilicity and, more importantly, give them excellent SSG performance. The NP-Zn2 film displays high evaporation efficiency, superior stability, and good seawater desalination performance. The efficient SSG performance, material abundance, and low cost suggest that NP-Zn films have promising applications in metal-based photothermal materials for SSG.

Nanoporous cobalt-doped AlNi3/NiO architecture for high performing hydrogen evolution at high current densities.

Engineering platinum-free catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with high activity and stability is essential for electrochemical hydrogen production. In this paper, we report the synthesis of cobalt-doped AlNi3/NiO (Co-AlNi3/NiO) electrode with three-dimensional nanoporous structure via chemical dealloying method. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that Co-AlNi3/NiO can accelerate water adsorption / dissociation and optimize adsorption-desorption energies of H* intermediates, thus improving the intrinsic HER activity. Both the introduction of Co and Al can efficiently ameliorate the electronic density around Ni sites of NiO and AlNi3, which can effectively reduce the energy barrier towards Volmer-Heyrovsky reaction and thus synergistically promote the hydrogen evolution. Benefiting from the large electrochemical active surface area, high electrical conductivity and electronic effect, the nanoporous Co-AlNi3/NiO catalyst exhibits remarkable HER activity with an overpotential of 73 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in alkaline condition, outperforming most of the reported non-precious metal catalysts. The nanoporous Co-AlNi3/NiO catalyst can operate continuously over 1000 h at high current densities with a robust stability. This work provides a new vision for the development of low-cost and efficient electrocatalysts for energy conversion applications.

Hierarchical Porous Nonprecious High-entropy Alloys for Ultralow Overpotential in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Water electrolysis is considered the cleanest method for hydrogen production. However, the widespread popularization of water splitting is limited by the high cost and scarce resources of efficient platinum group metals. Hence, it is imperative to develop an economical and high-performance electrocatalyst to improve the efficiency of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this study, a hierarchical porous sandwich structure is fabricated through dealloying FeCoNiCuAl2 Mn high-entropy alloy (HEA). This free-standing electrocatalyst shows outstanding HER performance with a very small overpotential of 9.7 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and a low Tafel slope of 56.9 mV dec-1 in 1 M KOH solution, outperforming commercial Pt/C. Furthermore, this electrocatalytic system recorded excellent reaction stability over 100 h with a constant current density of 100 mA cm-2 . The enhanced electrochemical activity in high-entropy alloys results from the cocktail effect, which is detected by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Additionally, micron- and nano-sized pores formed during etching boost mass transfer, ensuring sustained electrocatalyst performance even at high current densities. This work provides a new insight for development in the commercial electrocatalysts for water splitting.

Mechanically Robust Self-Organized Crack-Free Nanocellular Graphene with Outstanding Electrochemical Properties in Sodium Ion Battery.

Crack-free nanocellular graphenes are attractive materials with extraordinary mechanical and electrochemical properties, but their homogeneous synthesis on the centimeter scale is challenging. Here, a strong nanocellular graphene film achieved by the self-organization of carbon atoms using liquid metal dealloying and employing a defect-free amorphous precursor is reported. This study demonstrates that a Bi melt strongly catalyzes the self-structuring of graphene layers at low processing temperatures. The robust nanoarchitectured graphene displays a high-genus seamless framework and exhibits remarkable tensile strength (34.8 MPa) and high electrical conductivity (1.6 × 104 S m-1). This unique material has excellent potential for flexible and high-rate sodium-ion battery applications.

Feasibility Study on the Generation of Nanoporous Metal Structures by Means of Selective Alloy Depletion in Halogen-Rich Atmospheres.

A new approach to produce nanoporous metals has been investigated, which is based on the dealloying of bi- or multi-component alloys. Depletion and pore formation of the alloy substrate are obtained by the transport of certain alloy components at high temperatures via volatile halogen compounds. These halogen compounds are transferred to materials acting as sinks based on their higher affinity to the respective components, and chemically bound there. Transfer via volatile halogen compounds is known from the pack cementation coating process and from high-temperature corrosion in certain industrial atmospheres. The approach was tested on different precursor alloys: Ti-43.5Al-4Nb-1Mo-0.1B (TNM-B1), TiNb42, and AlCu. Both dealloying effects and micro-scale pore formation were observed. The detailed size of the porous structures is in the range of 50 nm for both TNM-B1 and TiNB42 and 500 nm for AlCu.

Constructing Nanoporous Ir/Ta2 O5 Interfaces on Metallic Glass for Durable Acidic Water Oxidation.

Although proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE) are considered as a promising technique for green hydrogen production, it remains crucial to develop intrinsically effective oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with high activity and durability. Here, a flexible self-supporting electrode with nanoporous Ir/Ta2O5 electroactive surface is reported for acidic OER via dealloying IrTaCoB metallic glass ribbons. The catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic OER performance with an overpotential of 218 mV for a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a small Tafel slope of 46.1 mV dec-1 in acidic media, superior to most electrocatalysts. More impressively, the assembled PEMWE with nanoporous Ir/Ta2 O5 as an anode shows exceptional performance of electrocatalytic hydrogen production and can operate steadily for 260 h at 100 mA cm-2 . In situ spectroscopy characterizations and density functional theory calculations reveal that the modest adsorption of OOH* intermediates to active Ir sites lower the OER energy barrier, while the electron donation behavior of Ta2 O5 to stabilize the high-valence states of Ir during the OER process extended catalyst's durability.

Nanoporous gold with microporous structure prepared by sodium dodecyl sulfate-mediated electrochemical dealloying.

Nanoporous gold (NPG) is a promising catalytic material for the oxidation of CO and methanol applications. However, NPGs are prone to extensive macroscopic cracking that often decrease mechanic properties of NPGs and depresses their catalytic action. To produce crack-free NPG with an ultra-finer porosity in room temperature, the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was added in electrochemical dealloying process. SDS has the effect of reducing the surface diffusion of gold which hinder the initial coarsening of ligaments and prevents interior silver atoms from being exposed and dissolved. As a result, the pore and ligment size are finer, but higher residual silver of NPG samples. NPG with pore size down to 2 nm and the ligament 4.0 nm was successfully fabricated with 13.32 mM SDS in perchloric acid solution. The surface diffusion coefficient of Au atoms was 1.6 × 10-24m2·s-1, nearly 3 orders of magnitude smaller than that of Au atoms in the absence of SDS (2.8 × 10-21m2·s-1). Nanoindentation results demonstrated that high residual silver content made NPG samples harder and stiffer，the specific surface areas of NPG with 6.66 mM SDS was 190 m2g-1by BET. This work provided very important clues on how to control the crack free ultrafine nanoporous structure of other materials.

Effect of electrochemically dealloying Ti6Al4V abutments on human gingival fibroblasts / 口腔疾病防治

Objective@#To investigate the effects of electrochemically dealloying of Ti6Al4V abutments on human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) and to provide experimental evidence for surface modification of implant abutments.@*Methods@#The samples were divided into an NC group (negative control, no other treatment on a smooth surface), an NM-1 group (nanomesh-1, electrochemical dealloying treatment in 1 mol/L NaOH 1 h on 2 V voltage), and an NM-2 group (nanomesh-2, electrochemical dealloying treatment in 5 mol/L NaOH 1 h on 2 V voltage). The surface morphologies of the samples and the adhesion of HGFs on the sample surfaces were observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface hydrophilicities of the samples were measured with a contact angle measuring instrument. The proliferation of HGFs on the different samples were evaluated with CCK-8, and the expression of adhesion-related genes, including collagen Ⅰ (COL1A1), collagen Ⅲ (COL3A1), fibronectin 1 (FN1), focal adhesion kinase (FAK), vinculin (VCL), integrin α2 (ITGA2), and integrin β1 (ITGB1), on the different samples was measured with qRT-PCR. The expression of vinculin on the surfaces of HGFs was observed via confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) after immunofluorescent staining. Collagen fiber secretion and syntheses of HGFs from different samples were evaluated via Sirius red staining.@*Results@#SEM revealed the formation of ordered and uniform three-dimensional mesh structures on the surfaces of the NM-1 and NM-2 groups, with grid diameters of approximately 30 nm for the NM-1 group and approximately 150 nm for the NM-2 group. Compared with that of the NC group, the water contact angles of the NM-1 group and NM-2 groups were significantly lower (P<0.000 1). Cell proliferation in the NM-1 group was significantly greater than that in the NC group (P<0.01). Moreover, there was no significant difference in the water contact angles or cell proliferation between the NM-1 group and the NM-2 group. SEM revealed that HGFs were adhered well to the surfaces of all samples, while the HGFs in the NM-1 and NM-2 groups showed more extended areas, longer morphologies, and more developed pseudopodia than did those in the NC group after 24 h. qRT-PCR revealed that the expression levels of the adhesion-related genes COL1A1, COL3A1, FN1, FAK and VCL in the NM-1 group were significantly greater than those in the NC and NM-2 groups (P<0.01). The expression of vinculin protein in the NM-1 group was the highest, and the number of focal adhesions was greatest in the NM-1 group (P<0.01). The results of Sirius red staining showed that the NM-1 group had the highest secretion and syntheses of collagen fibers (P<0.000 1).@*Conclusion@#The three-dimensional nanomechanical structure of Ti6Al4V modified by electrochemical dealloying promoted the adhesion, proliferation, collagen fiber secretion and syntheses of HGFs, and electrochemical dealloying of Ti6Al4V with a grid diameter of approximately 30 nm obviously promoted HGF formation.

Improved hydrogen evolution performance of Ni-based nanoporous catalyst with Mo and B co-addition.

The exploration of efficient and stable noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great interest for the development of electrochemical hydrogen production technologies. Herein, nanoporous Ni-based catalyst with Mo and B co-addition (NiMoB) prepared by dealloying is reported as an efficient electrocatalysts for HER. The nanoporous NiMoB achieves an overpotential of 31 mV at 10 mA cm-2, along with exceptional catalytic stability in alkaline electrolyte. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the incorporation of Mo and B can synergistically optimize the electronic structure and regulate the adsorption of HER intermediates on the Ni active site, thus accelerating the HER kinetics. This study provides a new perspective for the development of non-precious Ni-based catalysts towards efficient hydrogen energy conversion.