Direct NaBH4–H2O2 fuel cell based on nanoporous gold leaves

Direct borohydride-hydrogen peroxide fuel cell (DBHFC) has proved a promising power source and made plenty of progress during last decade. In the present work, nanoporous gold (NPG) leaves, derived from dealloying 12 carat Au/Ag alloy, are applied as catalyst to promote the performance of DBHFCs, at an ultralow loading of 0.12 mg cm−2. The effects of etching time, operation temperature, solution concentration and membrane thickness on cell performance are studied. At 80 °C, the cell with Nafion 212 can generate a power density of nearly 400 mW cm−2 at 0.66 V, under the supplying of 10 wt% NaBH4 and 20 wt% H2O2. Moreover, commercial 40 wt% Pt/C catalyst and self-made Pt/NPG catalyst are also investigated. All the results indicate that, the NPG catalyst is a promising and cost efficient electrocatalyst of DBHFC for both the anode and the cathode.