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 at ambient condition, and the galvanostatic discharging test indicates the DBFC has a good short-term durability.