Facile and rapid synthesis of Pt-NiOx/NiF composites as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for alkaline hydrogen evolution

A highly efficient and stable catalyst is the goal of practical electrolysis of water for hydrogen production. Here, Pt-NiO_x nanocomposites anchoring on Ni foam (Pt-NiO_x/NiF) is synthesized by a flexibility galvanic replacement within 2 h and manifests a considerable application prospect for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media. Owing to the faster kinetics result from appropriate noncovalent interaction, Pt-NiO_x/NiF achieved respectively a factor of 12 and 1.8 enhancement in HER current density relative to NiO_x/NiF and commercial Pt/C at an overpotential of 200 mV. Moreover, such a heterogeneous electrocatalyst have demonstrated a superior long-term stability of 100 h at a high current density of 50 mA/cm². The low cost, easy scalable synthetic strategy and exceptional HER activity makes the industrial application of Pt-NiO_x/NiF possible.