A New
Core/Shell NiAu/Au Nanoparticle Catalyst with
Pt-like Activity for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
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Abstract
We
report a general approach to NiAu alloy nanoparticles (NPs)
by co-reduction of Ni(acac)<sub>2</sub> (acac = acetylacetonate) and
HAuCl<sub>4</sub>·3H<sub>2</sub>O at 220 °C in the presence
of oleylamine and oleic acid. Subject to potential cycling between
0.6 and 1.0 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode) in 0.5 M H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>, the NiAu NPs are transformed into core/shell NiAu/Au
NPs that show much enhanced catalysis for hydrogen evolution reaction
(HER) with Pt-like activity and much robust durability. The first-principles
calculations suggest that the high activity arises from the formation
of Au sites with low coordination numbers around the shell. Our synthesis
is not limited to NiAu but can be extended to FeAu and CoAu as well,
providing a general approach to MAu/Au NPs as a class of new catalyst
superior to Pt for water splitting and hydrogen generation