The electrocatalytic application of RuO2 in direct borohydride fuel cells

Abstract A high electrocatalytic activity of RuO 2 has been found for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in the cathode of direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFCs). The electron transfer number n during the ORR changes from 3.58 to 3.86 and the percentage of the intermediate product H 2 O 2 decreases from 20.8% to 7.2% correspondingly when the disk potential scans negatively from −0.39 V to −0.8 V versus Hg/HgO. Peak power densities of 425 mW cm −2 has been obtained at 60 °C, when RuO 2 has been used as a cathodic catalyst in DBFCs. RuO 2 displays low sensitivity to the BH 4 − oxidation in DBFCs. Moreover, RuO 2 , as a cathodic catalyst, demonstrates a superb stability during a 200-h durability test. The identical X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the RuO 2 before and after the durability test also prove its stability.