HZB-Publication

Görüyilmaz, M. T.; Dharmaraj, K.; Dorbandt, I.; Kemppainen, E.; Schultz, T.; Koch, N.; Guo, X.; Nicolosi, V.; Schlatmann, R.; Browne, M. P.; Calnan, S.: Electrodeposited MnCo and MnNiCo Spinels for Anion Exchange Membrane Direct Ammonia Fuel Cell Cathodes: An Alternative to Platinum. ChemSusChem 19 (2026), p. e70795/1-10

Abstract:
Direct ammonia fuel cells (DAFCs) hold great promise as clean energy conversion devices due to their carbon-free exhaust, the high energy density and liquid-phase storability of ammonia, and use of an existing production and distribution infrastructure. When using the state-of-the-art anion exchange membranes, ammonia crossover from the cathode to the anode can cause rapid decay in DAFC performance as the current density increases. Mixed-metal oxides containing manganese-nickel-cobalt have emerged as NH3-tolerant cathode catalysts, but their systematic testing under variable loading conditions in DAFC is rarely reported. Here, we examine low-temperature DAFCs with electrodeposited platinum (Pt), manganese–cobalt oxide (MnCoOX), and manganese-nickel-cobalt oxide (MnNiCoOX) cathodes on Ni foam. To isolate cathodic effects, all cells use identical Pt on Ni Foam anodes with alkaline ammonia feeds. Structural characterization confirms defect-rich spinel coatings. MnCoOX achieves oxygen reduction reaction performance comparable to Pt, sustaining higher load voltage with lower interfacial resistance and larger capacitance, while MnNiCoOX shows restricted performance and rapid voltage loss, indicating sluggish charge transfer and fewer active sites. These results identify electrodeposited MnCoOX on Ni foam as a promising, scalable platinum group metal-free cathode for DAFCs and highlight compositional and mesostructural tuning as key levers to improve catalytic activity and device performance.