ELECTROCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF RAPIDLY QUENCHED AMORPHOUS NI-ZR METALLIC RIBBONS AND MECHANICALLY ALLOYED NI-ZR AMORPHOUS POWDERS

Rapidly quenched NiZr2 metallic ribbons and mechanically alloyed amorphous powders of the same composition have been prepared and chemically activated in 1 M HF to compare their electrochemical properties and their electrocatalytic activities for the hydrogen evolution in 30 wt% KOH at 70°C. The surface roughness or the effective surface area and the initial activity of the pressed powder material are initially larger than those of the ribbon but the current density of the former sample undergoes a fast deactivation process around 400 s. © 1990.