Porous TiFe₂ intermetallic compound fabricated via elemental powder reactive synthesis

Porous intermetallics show potential in the field of filtration and separation as well as in the field of catalysis. Herein, porous TiFe₂ intermetallics were fabricated by the reactive synthesis of elemental powders. The phase transformation and pore formation of porous TiFe₂ intermetallics were investigated, and its corrosion behavior and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in alkali solution were studied. Porous TiFe₂ intermetallics with porosity in the range of 34.4%–56.4% were synthesized by the diffusion reaction of Ti and Fe elements, and the pore formation of porous TiFe₂ intermetallic compound is the result of a combination of the bridging effect and the Kirkendall effect. The porous TiFe₂ samples exhibit better corrosion resistance compared with porous 316L stainless steel, which is related to the formation of uniform nanosheets on the surface that hinder further corrosion, and porous TiFe₂ electrode shows the overpotential of 220.6 and 295.6 mV at 10 and 100 mA·cm⁻², suggesting a good catalytic performance. The synthesized porous Fe-based intermetallic has a controllable pore structure as well as excellent corrosion resistance, showing its potential in the field of filtration and separation.