High performance of Ru nanoparticles supported on carbon for anode electrocatalyst of alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cell

Carbon supported Ru nanoparticles (Ru/C) prepared by liquid phase reduction of RuCl3 by NaBH4 under pH control were applied to anode electrocatalysts of alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AAEMFC) using hydrogen as fuel. Ru nanoparticles having ca. 3 nm diameter represented higher cell performance than not only Ru/C having large particle size (ca. 11 nm) but also a commercially available Pt/C catalyst. The cell performance of Ru/C increased with the cycle of fuel cell testing. X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy analysis indicated that Ru species was reduced during fuel cell testing. Thus, Ru metal can act as highly active site for hydrogen adsorption and oxidation in AAEMFC. The cell testing was also performed using Rh/C, Pd/C, and Ag/C to show that Ru/C was the most active anode catalyst for AAEMFC. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.