Nickel and cobalt electrodeposited on carbon fiber cloth as the anode of direct hydrogen peroxide fuel cell

Carbon fiber cloth (CFC) supported Ni and Co electrodes are prepared by electrodeposition (Ni/CFC and Co/CFC). Their catalytic performance for H2O2 electrooxidation in KOH solution is investigated and compared with Au/CFC electrode. Ni/CFC electrode exhibits higher catalytic activity than Au/CFC and Co/CFC electrodes. The performance of a direct peroxide-peroxide fuel cell (DPPFC) with Ni/CFC anode and Pd/CFC cathode is examined. The cell shows a peak power density of 21.6 mW cm−2 at 20 °C and 53.8 mW cm−2 at 50 °C. The cell performance is improved with the increase of anolyte and catholyte flow rate and operation temperature. Results indicates that the performance of DPPFC with low-cost Ni/CFC anodes is comparable with those using precious metal anodes, e.g., Au/CFC and Pd/CFC.