A simple direct borohydride fuel cell with a cobalt phthalocyanine catalyzed cathode

A simple, high-efficient and low-cost direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) without using noble metal catalysts and ion exchange membranes, has been designed based on a cobalt phthalocyanine(CoPc) catalyzed cathode and a hydrogen storage alloy(HSA) catalyzed anode. The electrochemical experiments show that CoPc not only exhibits considerable electro-catalytic activity for oxygen reduction in the BH4- solutions, but also the existence of BH4- ions has almost no negative influences on the discharge performances of the air-breathing cathode. A maximal power density of 90 mW cm(-2) is obtained for this cell at a discharge current density of 175 mA cm(-2) ambient condition, and the galvanostatic discharging test indicates the DBFC has a good short-term durability. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.