Eg. Dow et al., ENHANCED ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ALUMINUM HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE SEMI-FUEL CELL, Journal of power sources, 65(1-2), 1997, pp. 207-212
Significant accomplishments from this research effort have defined and
characterized the nature and rate of the chemical dynamics at the ano
de and cathode, thus allowing the development of the aluminum/hydrogen
peroxide couple as an energy-dense semi-fuel cell system. This effort
has included the investigation of new aluminum alloys, development of
new electrocatalysts for the hydrogen peroxide, optimization of the o
perating parameters and modelling of the electrochemical performance o
f the couple. Furthermore, it has demonstrated a technique that will e
nhance the electrochemical properties of selected aluminum anodes, whi
le controlling unwanted corrosion reactions at a tolerable level, The
unique methodology described in this paper involves the use of additiv
es to activate the surface of the aluminum anode-electrolyte, thus avo
iding alloying, processing and heat treating, In addition to this anod
e development, we have identified a novel electrocatalyst that enhance
s effective and efficient electrochemical reduction of hydrogen peroxi
de, thus shifting the predilection of the peroxide from parasitic deco
mposition to desired high rate electrochemical reduction. The improved
performance of this electrochemical couple has led to the attainment
of current densities of 500 to 800 mA cm(-2), five to seven times that
originally achievable at comparable cell voltages of 1.4 to 1.2. Syst
em-level modelling, based on the experimental evidence reported in thi
s paper, indicates that the aluminum/hydrogen peroxide couple is a ver
satile and energetic electrochemical energy source.