Ni-WC composite coating was obtained by using composite electrodeposition technique. The behavior of Ni-WC composite coating used as cathode material for hydro gen evolution reaction (HER) in a medium of 0.1 mol .L-1H2SO4+0.5mol.L-1 Na2SO4 was inverstigated. The experimental results show that the catalytic activity of Ni-WC composite electrode for HER in weak acidic medium is appearently higher than that of the electrode plated with Ni and is increased with the increasing of WC content in the coating. As compared with Ni plated electrode, the increase in catalytic activity of the composite electrode for HER should be attributed to the dispersion of WC particles in the Ni deposit, since the mechanism of HER for the two kinds of electrodes is the same.Owing to the incorporation of WC particles in Ni deposit, the standard activation free enthalpy for HER is decreased, and the defects and dislocations in the crystal sturcture of the composite coating are increased. This is equivalent to the addition of catalysis accelerator WC in the catalyst Ni.
