High-performance direct borohydride-hydrogen peroxide fuel cell using Ni foam-supported Ni-Co nanoparticles as a noble-metal free anode electrocatalyst

Abstract

The Ni-Co nanoparticles with various Ni/Co ratios are immobilized on a Ni foam (NF) template, coated with reduced graphene oxides (rGO), and used as a novel noble-metal-free anode electrocatalyst for enhanced performance direct borohydride fuel cells. The electrochemical active surface area (EASA) of Ni₅₀Co₅₀ /rGO/NF (1515 cm²) catalyst is 45.5 times larger than NF (33.3 cm²). A comprehensive study of direct borohydride-hydrogen peroxide fuel cell (DBHPFC) by Pt/C (0.5 mg cm⁻²) as a cathode and Ni₅₀-Co₅₀/rGO/NF as an anode is accomplished, so an open-circuit potential (OCP) of 1.90 V and the maximum power density of 309 mW cm⁻² is obtained at 60 ^◦C. These results show that electrocatalyst Ni₅₀Co₅₀/rGO/NF is a suitable candidate for use as an electrocatalyst in DBHPFC due to its low cost, ease of synthesis, excellent structural stability, and high catalytic performance.