Hydrazine/air direct-liquid fuel cell based on nanostructured copper anodes

13 December 2011

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Abstract

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Fuel cells (FCs) are promising electrochemical devices that convert the chemical energy of fuels directly into electrical energy, as long as the fuel is supplied.

This paper describes a room-temperature hydrazine/air direct-liquid fuel cell (DLFC) based on the use ofnanostructured copper electrodes. We show that nanostructured copper electrodes function as highly efficient and ultra-long-lasting catalyst for the electro-oxidation of hydrazine. Our Cu/hydrazine anodes show high electrical efficiency for long periods of continuous operation (more than 500 h).

A hydrazine/air fuel cell prototype was built with a nanostructured Cu/hydrazine anode, combined with a commercial air cathode. The output of this cell is about 0.45 W at 1 A (0.1 A cm−2 corresponds to the anode area), and supplies about 2.3 Wh and 1300 Wh kg−1 hydrazine. The hydrazine discharge efficiency is higher than 85%.