An amorphous nanoporous PdCuNi-S hybrid electrocatalyst for highly efficient hydrogen production

[Display omitted] •The PdCuNi-S catalysts were synthesized through a simple two-step dealloying method.•The PdCuNi-S material exhibited excellent catalytic and long-term stability for hydrogen evolution reaction.•The PdCuNi-S material exhibited the bicontinuous nanoporous and amorphous structure.•A series of control catalysts to highlight and explain the excellent properties of PdCuNi-S material. A novel amorphous nanoporous PdCuNi-S electrocatalyst is synthesized by a two-step dealloying method. The as-formed nanoporous PdCuNi-S catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic media, which is very close to commercial Pt/C catalyst. The overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 and Tafel slope are 48 mV and 35 mV dec−1, respectively. In addition, the catalyst shows good electrochemical stability in HER. The outstanding property of PdCuNi-S catalyst for hydrogen generation is attributed to the bicontinuous nanoporous structure, improved charge transfer, more bridging S22- and/or apical S2- in amorphous state and synergetic interactions of Pd, Cu, Ni and S.