Nickel nanorods over nickel foam as standalone anode for direct alkaline methanol and ethanol fuel cell

Tasnim Eisa, Hend Omar Mohamed, Yun Jeong Choi, Sung Gwan Park, Rafeeah Ali, Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem, Sang Eun Oh, Kyu Jung Chae*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

55 Scopus citations

Abstract

A highly electroactive nickel nanorod (NNR)/nickel foam (NF) electrode was fabricated for direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) using a simple and cost-effective hydrothermal process. The Ni/NiO nanorods were successfully grown on the surface of an NF electrode, which strongly enhanced the anode wettability and increased surface area by 18 times (11.9 m2 g−1), resulting in interfacial polarization resistance reduction. The NNR/NF electrode shows high electro-catalytic activity and great stability during alcohol oxidation. The current densities obtained for NNR/NF were four (479 mA cm−2) and six (543 mA cm−2) times higher than that for pristine NF in the cases of methanol and ethanol oxidations, respectively. This high current density can be attributed to the superhydrophilic surface of the Ni/NiO nanorods and corresponding high mass transfer capability between the electrolytes and Ni/NiO nanorods embedded on the surface of the electrodes. This study presents a new approach for using the novel NNR/NF as a cheap and high performance anode in DAFCs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)5948-5959
Number of pages12
JournalInternational Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Volume45
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 21 2020

Keywords

  • Direct alcohol fuel cells
  • Electro-catalytic activity
  • Ethanol oxidation
  • Methanol oxidation
  • Nanorods
  • Nickel foam

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Fuel Technology
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology

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