Facile electrodeposition of feather-like Cu-Ni foam as an affordable electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

In this study, Cu-Ni foam with different percentages of nickel and copper was fabricated by the electrodeposition method. The morphology and phase structure of deposited foams were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction, respectively. Moreover, TEM was utilized to see the foam morphology and the feather-like structures in more detail. It was observed that Cu-Ni foam had a feather-like structure, and the presence of this type of structure led to an increase in the electrode/electrolyte interface. Based on the results, it was found that by adding nickel to copper, the electrocatalytic performance was improved, and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of Cu-Ni foam was also higher than Cu foam. The electrochemical surface area of fabricated structures was measured by the electrochemical test and it was revealed that the fabricated electrode possesses a high surface area (85.9 cm(2)). The HER activity of electrodeposited feather-like foams was studied by linear sweep voltammetry in 1.0 M KOH, which showed that the Tafel slope of the Cu-Ni foam (50 wt% Ni) was 97 mV dec(-1) and its required overpotential to attain the current density of 10 mA cm(-2) was 229 mV. Overall, this research proposes a highly efficient and affordable Cu-Ni foam with remarkable electrocatalytic properties in alkaline media.