摘要

Rare earth-based AB(5)-type hydrogen storage alloys as catalysts of hydrogen-diffusion electrodes for hydrogen absorption and oxidation reactions in alkaline fuel cells were investigated. It is demonstrated that the metahydride hydrogen-diffusion electrodes could be charged by hydrogen gas and electrochemically discharged, at the same time to retain a stable oxidation potential for a long period. The catalytic activities and stability are almost comparable with a Pt catalyst on the active carbon. Further improvement of performances is expected via reduction of catalyst size into nanometers.