A preliminary study of direct borazane fuel cell

Borazane (BH3NH3) is a stable and low-toxic crystalline solid with possibly the highest hydrogen content (19.5 wt.%) in chemical compounds. In this communication, we report for the first time the electrooxidation of borazane and a novel direct fuel cell using alkaline borazane solution as alternative fuel. Of particular importance in this work is that non-platinum catalysts were applied for both the anode and the cathode. After a screening of a number of candidates (including Pt, Au, Ni, Cu, etc.), Ag was found to be a highly efficient catalyst for anodic oxidation of borazane, and MnO2 turned out to be a good cathode catalyst showing borazane-tolerance. The energy density of the fuel released by such a preliminary direct fuel cell was ca. 2000 mAh g−1 at 1 mA cm−2 and 0.9 V at room temperature.