Electrochemical characterization and reactivity of Pt nanoparticles supported on single-walled carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes have been proposed as advanced metal catalyst support for electrocatalysis. In this paper, Pt nanoparticles supported on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)-Pt, were prepared using a solid-state reaction between the SWCNTs and two different Pt precursors, bis(dibenzylideneacetone)platinum [Pt(DBA)2] or tri(dibenzylideneacetone)platinum [Pt(DBA)3]. TEM images of the samples show Pt nanoparticles with a particle size around 2.5 nm with a high degree of dispersion on the SWCNTs. A detailed electrochemical characterization of the surface of the samples including irreversibly adsorbed adatoms of Bi and Ge as probe reactions has been carried out. It has been stated that SWCNTs-Pt samples subjected to the classical electrochemical activation induce a serious sintering of the Pt nanoparticles.