Nanoporous H-sorbed carbon as anode of secondary cell

Nanoporous carbon is proposed as reversible hydrogen electrode for an electrochemical cell operating in aqueous KOH solution. Hydrogen is stored by water electroreduction on the carbon electrode during the charging step, while nickel gauze is used as auxiliary positive electrode. Then, electrical energy is harvested by using the charged electrode as anode associated to an air cathode. A specific capacity of 390–450 Ah kg−1 of carbon material was measured. The system is technically more simple than a traditional fuel cell, since it does not require any hydrogen reservoir, membrane and noble metal for the hydrogen electrode.