Highly Active and Durable Nanostructured Ni-CNTs-HG Composite Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Production

Background: World energy crisis has triggered more attention to energy developing of clean energy carrier. To find simple, economical and effective hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts is one of the major challenges. Rational design and modification of electrocatalysts materials are of great importance for the development of low-cost and effective catalysts. Methods: Herein, we report a Ni-CNTs-HG/NF electrode catalyst, which is fabricated on the surface of Ni foam by electrodeposition technique. The fabrication strategy allows the construction of a composite architecture with the Ni foam morphology at the macro level, and the Ni nanoparticles supported by carbon nanotubes and Hydrophilic graphene nanosheets at the nanoscopic level. Results: Compared to NF electrocatalyst, the Ni-CNTs-HG/NF, the CNTs and HG sheets possess the largest electrocatalytic active surface area, providing Ni nanoparticles with catalytically active sites. The Ni-CNTs-HG/NF electrocatalyst exhibits better HER performance in alkaline electrolytes. Conclusion: The Ni-CNTs-HG cathode performs its activity under alkaline conditions with an overpotential i.e 56 and 227 mV at a current density of 10 and 100mAcm-2, which is much lower than that of Ni foam electrode (423 and 278 mV). The secret of the enhanced electrochemical activity lies in its interior structure by coupling metal nanoparticles with carbon materials.