LaNi 0.9Ru 0.1O 3 as a cathode catalyst for a direct borohydride fuel cell

Abstract

LaNi 0.9Ru 0.1O 3 as cathode catalyst for a direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) was synthesized and investigated for the first time. The electrochemical experiments indicated that perovskite-type oxide LaNi 0.9Ru 0.1O 3 exhibited higher electrochemical performance compared with LaNiO 3, which suggested incorporation of element Ru into LaNiO 3 could further improve the catalytic ability for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution. LaNi 0.9Ru 0.1O 3 catalyst was found to have good tolerance of BH 4 −. Meanwhile the maximum power density of 171 mW cm −2 was obtained at 65 °C without using any precious ion exchange membrane. A life test indicated that the DBFC displayed no significant degradation for about 70 h testing. The electrochemical data suggested that LaNi 0.9Ru 0.1O 3, which provided a simple way to construct DBFCs without using any ion exchange membrane, might be promising cathode catalyst with high performance and low cost for DBFCs.