Silvia Maria Spriano

Electrocatalytic behaviour of Zr64Ni36 and Zr48Ni27Al25 amorphous alloys

Amorphous Zr64Ni36 and Zr48Ni27Al25 alloys have been characterized by physico-chemical, structural and electrochemical techniques in view of their possible application as electrocatalytic materials for hydrogen evolution reaction. Phase transformations of the amorphous materials have been observed by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The electrocatalytic efficiency has been evaluated on the basis of electrochemical data obtained from cathodic polarization curves carried out in 1 M KOH at 25°C. The results have been compared to those obtained on polycrystalline nickel. The overall experimental data indicate that interesting electrocatalytic performances are obtained with samples chemically pre-treated in HF solutions. In the case of Zr48Ni27Al25 alloy a leaching pre-treatment was also tried with the purpose of obtaining a highly micro-porous structure as a consequence of Al elimination.