Sputter-deposited Pt nanoparticle/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

• PtNP/MWCNT electrocatalysts were prepared using the magnetron sputtering technique.
• Oxygen reduction on the PtNP/MWCNT composites was studied in acid and alkaline media.
• The electrocatalytic activity of PtNP/MWCNT for ORR was higher than that of bulk Pt.
• Tafel behaviour of ORR was similar for PtNP/MWCNT, bulk Pt and commercial Pt/C catalyst.

Platinum nanoparticles supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PtNP/MWCNT) were prepared using the magnetron sputtering technique and used as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Cyclic voltammetry and the rotating disk electrode experiments were performed in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 0.1 M KOH solutions in order to investigate the electrochemical properties of the prepared catalysts. The composite catalyst samples were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction. The SEM images showed a uniform distribution of Pt nanolayers on the surface of MWCNTs. Specific and mass activities of O2 reduction were determined for PtNP/MWCNT composites and a comparison with commercial Pt/C catalyst and bulk Pt was made. The PtNP/MWCNT catalysts exhibited a high electrocatalytic activity for the four-electron reduction of oxygen to water.

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