Nickel nanorods over nickel foam as standalone anode for direct alkaline methanol and ethanol fuel cell

A highly electroactive nickel nanorod (NNR)/nickel foam (NF) electrode was fabricated for direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) using a simple and cost-effective hydrothermal process. The Ni/NiO nanorods were successfully grown on the surface of an NF electrode, which strongly enhanced the anode wettability and increased surface area by 18 times (11.9 m2 g−1), resulting in interfacial polarization resistance reduction. The NNR/NF electrode shows high electro-catalytic activity and great stability during alcohol oxidation. The current densities obtained for NNR/NF were four (479 mA cm−2) and six (543 mA cm−2) times higher than that for pristine NF in the cases of methanol and ethanol oxidations, respectively. This high current density can be attributed to the superhydrophilic surface of the Ni/NiO nanorods and corresponding high mass transfer capability between the electrolytes and Ni/NiO nanorods embedded on the surface of the electrodes. This study presents a new approach for using the novel NNR/NF as a cheap and high performance anode in DAFCs.