Employment of Fiber-Shaped Co Modified with Au Nanoparticles as Anode in Direct NaBH4-H2O2 and N2H4-H2O2 Fuel Cells

Abstract

In this study, fiber-shaped cobalt (Cofiber) was electroplated on the copper surface and modified with various amounts of gold nanoparticles (denoted as AuCofiber/Cu) with the aim to use it as the anode material in direct NaBH4-H2O2 (DBHPFC) and N2H4-H2O2 (DHHPFC) fuel cells. The galvanic displacement technique has been used for the deposition of Au nanoparticles onto the Cofiber surface. The AuCofiber/Cu catalysts were prepared with the Au loadings in the range of 10.9–84.4 μgAu cm−2. Single fuel cell tests were performed by employing the prepared Cofiber/Cu and different AuCofiber/Cu catalysts as the anode and a Pt sheet as the cathode. It was found that the peak power densities up to 162 mW cm−2 for DHHPFC and 188 mW cm−2 for DBHPFC were obtained at a temperature of 25°C using the AuCofiber/Cu catalyst with the Au loading of 84.4 μgAucm–2 as the anode. The highest specific peak power density values of 12018 mW mg–1Au for DHHPFC and 14954 mW mg–1Au for DBHPFC were obtained, when employing the AuCofiber/Cu catalyst with the lowest Au loading of 10.9 μgAu cm–2 as the anode material.