title: Interleaved mesoporous copper for the anode catalysis in direct ammonium borane fuel cells.
abstract: Mesoporous materials with tailored microstructures are of increasing importance in practical applications particularly for energy generation and/or storage. Here we report a mesoporous copper material (MS-Cu) can be prepared in a hierarchical microstructure and exhibit high catalytic performance for the half-cell reaction of direct ammonium borane (NH3BH3) fuel cells (DABFs). Hierarchical copper oxide (CuO) nanoplates (CuO Npls) were first synthesized in a hydrothermal condition. CuO Npls were then reduced at room temperature using water solution of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) to yield the desired mesoporous copper material, MS-Cu, consisting of interleaved nanoplates with a high density of mesopores. The surface of MS-Cu comprised high-index facets, whereas a macroporous copper material (MC-Cu), which was prepared from CuO Npls at elevated temperatures in a hydrogen stream, was surrounded by low-index facets with a low density of active sites. MS-Cu exhibited a lower onset potential and improved durability for the electro-oxidation of NH3BH3 than MC-Cu or copper particles because of the catalytically active mesopores on the interleaved nanoplates.
authors.forename: Francis M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Auxilia
authors.forename: Toyokazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Govindachetty
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saravanan
authors.forename: Gubbala V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Ramesh
authors.forename: Futoshi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ya
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ariga
authors.forename: Arivuoli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dakshanamoorthy
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004566:Electrodes; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D058608:Nanopores / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity
chemical_list: D001896:Boron Compounds; D003300:Copper; C522695:borazine