Activated nickel anodes for average power fuel cells

The activation of nickel gas anodes has been studied using a wide range of transition metal compounds added to the nickel powder before sintering or added by impregnation to the sintered electrodes. Using a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell for the tests, the efficiency of the impregnant for increasing the performance of the nickel/hydrogen electrode was in the range ammonium wolframate > cobalt acetate > copper basic carbonate > ammonium vanadate. The optimum performance was obtained by using a mixture of the first two compounds. The optimum conditions for the use of these electrodes are shown to be 79–82°C with a KOH electrolyte of 6.5–6.7 N and a hydrogen pressure at the electrode of 400 mm Hg. Under these conditions the cell gave 300mAcm^–2 and a maximum power density of 110mWcm^–2.