Platinum-nickel alloy excavated nano-multipods with hexagonal close-packed structure and superior activity towards hydrogen evolution reaction

Crystal phase regulations may endow materials with enhanced or new functionalities. However, syntheses of noble metal-based allomorphic nanomaterials are extremely difficult, and only a few successful examples have been found. Herein, we report the discovery of hexagonal close-packed Pt–Ni alloy, despite the fact that Pt–Ni alloys are typically crystallized in face-centred cubic structures. The hexagonal close-packed Pt–Ni alloy nano-multipods are synthesized via a facile one-pot solvothermal route, where the branches of nano-multipods take the shape of excavated hexagonal prisms assembled by six nanosheets of 2.5 nm thickness. The hexagonal close-packed Pt–Ni excavated nano-multipods exhibit superior catalytic property towards the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline electrolyte. The overpotential is only 65 mV versus reversible hydrogen electrode at a current density of 10 mA cm(−2), and the mass current density reaches 3.03 mA μgPt(−1) at −70 mV versus reversible hydrogen electrode, which outperforms currently reported catalysts to the best of our knowledge.