The effective Pd/Pt bimetallic nanofoam catalyst (Pd/Pt NFC) was fabricated on Cu nanofoam
substrate. The substrate was electrochemically prepared by copper reduction and
covered with Pd/Pt NFC by galvanic replacement reaction in aqueous solutions of Pd (II) and
Pt (IV). The catalyst was characterized by SEM, EDX, ICP-OES and EIS techniques. It was
tested for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in the acidic media by linear sweep voltammetry
(LSV). Among of various compositions, Pd65Pt35 catalyst showed better performance
in comparison with pure Pt NFC for HER. The mass activity of noble metals on the Pt
NFC and Pd65Pt35 NFC, at the same potential of
300 mV vs. NHE, were about 3.21 mA mg
1
Pt and 4.98 mA mg
1 PtþPd, respectively. Consequently, proposed catalyst increased HER activity
about 1.5 times and decreases Pt loading on the surface and cost of catalyst. The
obtained results show that the Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism controls the HER. The
fabricated catalyst showed a good stability for HER by chronoamperometric method.