Electrocatalytic Activity of a Composite Based on η-Niobium Carbide in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

• Published in: Inorganic materials : applied research Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 432 - 442
• Main Authors: Eryomina, M. A., Lyalina, N. V., Lomayeva, S. F., Averkiev, I. K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01-04-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; General Purpose Materials; Graphite; Hydrofluoric acid; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Inorganic Chemistry; Iron; Materials Science; Mechanical alloying; Niobium carbide; Sintering (powder metallurgy); Spark plasma sintering; Thickness; composites; mechanical alloying; hydrogen evolution reaction (HER); η-carbide
• ISSN: 2075-1133; 2075-115X
• DOI: 10.1134/S2075113324020199

The electrocatalytic activity of a new composite material based on η-carbide Nb
3
(Fe, Al)
3
C in the hydrogen evolution reaction from acidic and alkaline solutions is studied. The composite was obtained by spark plasma sintering of mechanically alloyed niobium, aluminum, and graphite powders in steel containers in petroleum ether, followed by etching in an alkaline solution or in a hydrofluoric acid solution. The composite consists of 78 wt % Nb
3
(Fe, Al)
3
C, 19 wt % Nb
5
Al
3
C
x
, and 3 wt % graphite; it has a layered structure with a layer thickness of the Nb
5
Al
3
C
x
phase of 50–70 nm. In terms of the magnitudes of overpotential in the hydrogen evolution reaction, the resulting composite is superior to undoped Nb
2
CT
x
and Nb
4
C
3
T
x
.