Porous Ni–Cu Alloy Dendrite Anode Catalysts with High Activity and Selectivity for Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells
Bihao Hu, Jingjing Yu, Jiazhi Meng, Chuanlan Xu, Jinliang Cai, Biao Zhang, Yuping Liu, Danmei Yu, Xiaoyuan Zhou, Changguo Chen
Abstract
A porous Ni–Cu alloy dendrite catalyst covered by Ni nanoparticles (Ni-np@NC) has been fabricated by an ultrafast and controllable strategy. The research results show that the morphology of the Ni–Cu alloy depends strongly on the Cu2+concentration. Moreover, the Ni-np@NC catalyst demonstrates excellent selectivity and activity toward the borohydride oxidation reaction (BOR). Furthermore, on the Ni-np@NC catalyst electrode, the overpotential merely requires 169 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm–2 for BOR, and the fuel efficiency may reach 70%. The direct borohydride fuel cell using the Ni-np@NC/C anode can export a maximum power density of 218 mW cm–2, much higher than that using the noble-based anode reported in the literature. The remarkable enhancement of Ni-np@NC catalyst performances is on the back of the unique morphology of porous dendrite covered by nanoparticles and the introduction of Cu.