Hydrogen has the advantages of high combustion heat, non-toxic, and pollution-free energy conversion process. Progress of cost-effective and efficient non-noble metal catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a great challenge [1]. In this study, the binary and ternary CoFe, CoFeMn, and CoFeMo coatings with different compositions have been deposited on the nickel foam substrate using the electroless metal deposition method and morpholine borane as the reducing agent. CoFe, CoFeMn and CoFeMo coatings are compact and crack-free, with typical globular morphology. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) were used for the characterization of the surface morphology, structure and composition of prepared catalysts. HER was investigated in 1 M KOH solution by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). It was determined that the CoFeMn and CoFeMo coatings give lower overpotential values of -135.8 and -149.6 mV, respectively, for the HER to obtain a current density of 20 mA cm-2 as compared with the CoFe coating (-243.9 mV). The obtained catalysts are good candidates to use them as cathode material for HER in alkaline media [2].
