Mesoporous active carbon dispersed with ultra-fine platinum nanoparticles and their electrochemical properties

Active carbons were prepared by polymer blend with various chemical concentrations and carbonization conditions. The resultant porosity and electrochemical properties were studied by nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm and cyclic voltammetry techniques, and compared with those of commercial carbon black, Vulcan XC-72R. The polymer-derived active carbons exhibit a mesoporous structure, large surface area, low capacitance, and high electrochemical activity, thus are suitable for catalyst support. By ion-exchange method with appropriate functionalization treatments (three different ways were conducted in this paper) on these carbon supports, we have achieved a uniform dispersion of ultra-fine Pt nanoparticles (~ 2 nm) with a total loading amount up to 10 wt.% and an exchange efficiency of 60%, much higher than the values of Vulcan XC-72R.