Improved performance of Raney nickel electrode by the addition of electrically conductive materials for hydrogen oxidation reaction

The performance of Raney Ni electrodes with electrically conductive materials for hydrogen oxidation reaction on an alkaline fuel cell was investigated in 6 M KOH solution at 80°C. The Raney Ni electrodes with carbon black (Vulcan XC-72 and Ketjen black) showed higher performance than Raney Ni electrode without carbon black for hydrogen oxidation. The improved performance of Raney Ni electrode was caused on the enhanced conductivity of electrodes, the increase of electrolyte diffusivity and the enlargement of active sites. When various carbon blacks — Vulcan XC-72 and Ketjen black — with different surface area and conductivity were added, Raney Ni electrode with Vulcan XC-72, which had a relatively large surface area and high conductivity, showed higher performance than that with Ketjen black. When non-porous nickel powder as a conductive material was added, the Raney Ni electrodes with 20% nickel powder showed high performance.