Abstract:Ni-C micro powders as electro-catalyst for hydrogen evolution were fabricated from mixtures of polypropylene (PP) and NiO (mass ratio from 1︰2.3 to 1︰2.7) by heating in Ar to 1 073 K. TG-DSC was employed for monitoring pyrolysis of PP+NiO mixtures, and XRD and SEM-EDS were utilized for analyzing composition and morphology of solid products of PP+NiO pyrolysis. Catalytic property of as-obtained solid pyrolysis products was tested by electrochemical workstation (Parstat 3000A). The results show that PP decomposes when heated and its decomposition products can reduce NiO, resulting in final solid products of Ni-C micro powders at 1 073 K, in which nickel content rises with increasing of initial NiO content in PP+NiO mixtures. Ni-C micro powders from pyrolysis of PP︰NiO=1︰2.6 and 1︰2.7 exhibit the best catalytic performance and reliable stability under high over potential and low over potential. Good stability of catalytic performance can be observed after 1 000 cyclic voltammetry tests.