| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1270515 | International Journal of Hydrogen Energy | 2014 | 8 Pages |
•Pt nanoparticles are well dispersed on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs).•Pt nanoparticles have narrow size distribution.•The Pt/SWCNTs has larger electrochemical surface area than the commercial Pt/C.•The Pt/SWCNTs is highly active for methanol and ethanol oxidation.
Both narrow size and highly homogeneous distribution of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) are achieved on single-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized by carboxylic groups using ethylene glycol as reducing agents. Transmission electron microscope images show that the Pt NPs have an average particle size of about 2.1 nm and are homogeneously dispersed on the surface of SWCNTs. The electrochemical measurements show the resulting Pt NPs on SWCNTs (Pt/SWCNTs) exhibit competitively catalytic activity for methanol and ethanol electro-oxidation compared to Pt NPs on carbon black (Pt/C). The peak current density of Pt/SWCNTs for methanol and ethanol oxidation is 3.8 and 2.3 times higher than that of Pt/C. The most striking merit of the Pt/SWCNTs is its much better anti-poisoning ability than the Pt/C. The significantly improved performance is ascribed to more anchoring sites of SWCNTs, which improve the dispersion of Pt NPs and increase the utilization of Pt. The proposed synthesis route provides a facile, feasible and effective method for developing highly efficient electro-catalysts.
Graphical abstractHighly dispersed Pt nanoparticles on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were synthesized (Pt/SWCNTs). The Pt/SWCNTs has larger electrochemical surface area and higher catalytic activity toward the oxidation of methanol and ethanol compared with the commercial Pt/C (Pt/C). The reason may be due to that functionalized SWCNTs with carboxylic groups result in both narrow size and highly homogeneous distribution of Pt NPs on SWCNTs, which makes more Pt atoms be utilized for the oxidation of methanol and ethanol.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide
