Comparative study of Pt catalysts supported on different high conductive carbon materials for methanol and ethanol oxidation

Different carbon materials with high electrical conductivity have been studied as electrocatalyst support for direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs). The aim of the work was to establish the influence of the support on the catalyst properties and to improve their efficiency in the fuel cell. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs), carbon nanocoils (CNCs) and ordered mesoporous carbons (gCMK-3) have been used for synthesizing platinum catalysts by the polyol method. Results have been compared with those obtained for a platinum catalyst supported on Vulcan XC-72R, prepared by the same method, and for the commercial Pt/C catalyst from E-TEK. It has been demonstrated that novel carbon supports could help to oxidize CO adsorbed on platinum particles more easily than the commercial carbon support and improve the alcohol oxidation reaction, both in terms of onset potential and current density. The catalyst supported on gCMK-3 carbon resulted to be the most effective in both the methanol and ethanol oxidation, which can be attributed to its ordered structure and high electrical conductivity.