“…For the preparation of intermetallic electrodes of Cu 5 Zn 8 /ZnPd/ZnPt Cu-foils (Alfa Aesar, 99.999 %, thickness: 0.1 mm)/Pd-foils (ChemPur, 99.9 %, thickness: 0.25 mm)/Pt-foils (ChemPur, 99.99 %, thickness: 0.1 mm), each with a width of roughly 1 cm and a length of up to 2.5 cm, and zinc granules (Alfa Aesar, 99.9999 %, diameter: 1-6 mm) were used to obtain samples in the form of foils. [27] The weighted reactants were evacuated and sealed in quartz glass ampoules avoiding direct contact of the zinc granules and the corresponding foil by means of a neck. The evacuated tubes were placed upright in a furnace and heated to 450°C with 60 Kh À 1 , held for one day, before heating to 720°C (for the preparation of Cu 5 Zn 8 -foils), or 900°C (for the preparation of ZnPd-and ZnPt-foils) with 60 Kh À 1 followed by 10 to 90 days of annealing.…”