Porous metals are of interest for their high surface area and potential for enhanced catalytic behavior. Electrodeposited NiCu thin films with a range of compositions were electrochemically dealloyed to selectively remove the Cu component. The structure, composition, and reactivity of these samples were characterized both before and after the dealloying step using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and electrochemical measurements. The hydrogen evolution reaction and methanol oxidation reaction were measured on dealloyed samples and compared to similar measurements on as-deposited samples. Complementing the reactivity measurements, the surface area of electrodeposited thin films was evaluated using electrochemical double-layer capacitance, electrochemical area measurements using a redox couple, and topographic atomic force microscope imaging. Nanostructured materials fabricated by electrochemical dealloying are a promising area of catalysis research. Double-layer capacitance measurements are a practical technique for estimating the accessible surface area of a sample to determine intrinsic catalytic reactivity.<br/><br/>This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. RUI-DMR-1104725, REU-PHY/DMR-1004811, MRI-CHE-1126462, MRI-CHE-0959282, and ARI-PHY-0963317 as well as by the Jacob E. Nyenhuis Faculty Development Fund of Hope College.<br/>

Electrodeposited alloy thin films for catalysis applications

249th National Meeting (2015)

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