Colloidal Au and Au-alloy catalysts for direct borohydride fuel cells: Electrocatalysis and fuel cell performance

详细信息    查看全文

• 作者：Mohammed H. Atwan ; Charles L.B. Macdonald ; Derek O. Northwood and Elod L. Gyenge
• 关键词：Borohydride fuel cells ; Colloidal metals ; Electrocatalysis
• 刊名：Journal of Power Sources
• 出版年：2006
• 出版时间：14 July 2006
• 年：2006
• 卷：158
• 期：1
• 页码：36-44
• 全文大小：661 K

文摘

Supported colloidal Au and Au-alloys (Au-Pt and Au-Pd, 1:1 atomic ratio) on Vulcan XC-72 (with 20 wt % metal load) were prepared by the Bönneman method. The electrocatalytic activity of the colloidal metals with respect to borohydride electro-oxidation for fuel cell applications was investigated by voltammetry on static and rotating electrodes, chronoamperometry, chronopotentiometry and fuel cell experiments. The fundamental electrochemical techniques showed that alloying Au, a metal that leads to the maximum eight-electron oxidation of BH₄⁻, with Pd or Pt, well-known catalysts of dehydrogenation reactions, improved the electrode kinetics of BH₄⁻ oxidation. Fuel cell experiments corroborated the kinetic studies. Using 5 mg cm⁻² colloidal metal load on the anode, it was found that Au-Pt was the most active catalyst giving a cell voltage of 0.47 V at 100 mA cm⁻² and 333 K, while under identical conditions the cell voltage using colloidal Au was 0.17 V.