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Abstract: Direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) as a liquid type fuel cell is promising for portable applications. In this study, we report our recent progress in the micro-fuel cell development. A power density of 80mWcm−2 was achieved in passive mode at ambient conditions when using the anode containing nickel, carbon-supported Pd catalyst and Nafion ionomer. Current efficiency was also found to be greatly increased due to the use of Nafion rather than polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Based on improvements on single cell performance, planar multi-cell power modules were assembled to study the feasibility of making high-performance and practical DBFC power units. A power of 2.5W was achieved in a fully passive eight-cell module after significantly simplifying cell structure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this study, Fe3O4/carbon nanocomposites as anode materials of Li-ion batteries were synthesized through heating hierarchically porous Fe-based xerogels under N2 atmosphere. The pyrolysis of amorphous Fe-xerogel base materials resulted in the simultaneous formation of Fe3O4/C composites, in which Fe3O4 particles of less than 50nm were uniformly dispersed and embedded in a porous carbon matrix. Due to the favorable nanostructure, the synthesized Fe3O4/C composites with a proper carbon content of 18.8wt.% exhibited good electrochemical performance including high capacity and rate capability as well as much enhanced cyclic stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]