Fabrication self–assembly bulk CuO/Cu2O@Ni–B metallic catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction

As a novel promising catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), a three-dimensional self–assembly bulk CuO/Cu 2 O@Ni–B metallic catalysts were controllably synthesized through dealloying of Cu–Ni–B precursor alloys, in which porous Ni–B act as the continuous framework. By meaning of XRD and TEM, multiple Ni–B phases were proved to be present in precursor, including Ni 4 B 3 , Ni 2 B and NiB. With prolonging the dealloying time to 12h, CuO and Cu 2 O nanocubes and nanosheets were found to be attached on the Ni–B skeleton. Based on this, the product with dealloying treatment for 18h was revealed to obtain the overpotential as low as 163.2 mV@10 mA cm −2 . Furthermore, this sample was also found to possess the remarkably small radii of Nyquist plots with C dl value as 21.0 mF cm −2 , suggesting the faster charge transfer ability and more active sites by appropriate dealloying engineering. In addition, it was worth noting that the catalysts could maintain an excellent cyclic stability for 12h of continuous operation. This work provided a new route for the exploration of TMBs catalysts with excellent hydrogen evolution activity.