High performance of Ru nanoparticles supported on carbon for anode electrocatalyst of alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cell

► Ru supported on carbon was prepared by reduction of RuCl3 aq. under pH control. ► The smaller Ru nanoparticles exhibited the higher activity to anode electrocatalysts. ► Ru/C with 3 nm metal nanoparticles showed higher cell performance than Pt/C. ► Change of chemical state of Ru/C during fuel cell testing was characterized by XAFS.