Novel preparation method of composite catalyst composed of Pt wires and particles for low-temperature fuel cell applications

A novel composite type catalyst of Pt particles and Pt wires was prepared for low-temperature fuel cell applications. For this preparation, a specialized multi-wall carbon nanotube with an amorphous carbon structure on the outside wall was used, and a sub-substrate method using silica as the sub-substrate material was performed. According to HR-TEM analysis, about 30–40% Pt wire-type catalyst was observed with respect to the total Pt catalysts. This new type of catalyst showed about twice the oxygen reduction activity of normal particle type catalysts. The enhanced activity results from the active planes, which were especially exposed on the surface of the Pt wire-type catalyst. From the cyclic voltammogram, an increased peak area of the Pt(1 0 0) plane was confirmed. This paper suggests a novel method that is able to prepare the composite type catalyst of Pt wires and particles without any sort of template.