title: Hollow core-shell structured Ni-Sn@C nanoparticles: a novel electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction.
abstract: Pt-free electrocatalysts with high activity and low cost are highly pursued for hydrogen production by electrochemically splitting water. Ni-based alloy catalysts are potential candidates for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and have been studied extensively. Here, we synthesized novel hollow core-shell structure Ni-Sn@C nanoparticles (NPs) by sol-gel, chemical vapor deposition, and etching processes. The prepared electrocatalysts with porous hollow carbon layers have a high conductivity and large active area, which exhibit good electrocatalytic activity toward HER. The Tafel slope of ∼35 millivolts per decade measured in acidic solution for Ni-Sn@C NPs is the smallest one to date for the Ni-Sn alloy catalysts, and exceeds those of the most non-noble metal catalysts, indicating a possible Volmer-Heyrovsky reaction mechanism. The synthetic method can be extended to prepare other hollow core-shell structure electrocatalysts for low-temperature fuel cells.
authors: ‡Environmental Science College, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing 211171, P. R. China.
authors: Leiming
authors: L
authors: Lang
authors: †State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, P. R. China.
authors: Yi
authors: Y
authors: Shi
authors: †State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, P. R. China.
authors: Jiong
authors: J
authors: Wang
authors: †State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, P. R. China.
authors: Feng-Bin
authors: FB
authors: Wang
authors: †State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, P. R. China.
authors: Xing-Hua
authors: XH
authors: Xia
keywords: Ni−Sn; core−shell structure; electrocatalysis; hydrogen evolution reaction; porous carbon