Carbide-derived carbon with hollow core structure and its performance as catalyst support for methanol electro-oxidation

•Novel Pt on hollow carbon core catalysts•High activity through high dispersion and mass transfer•High stability in methanol electro-oxidation

New hollow core particles of mesoporous/graphitic carbon were successfully prepared from carbon core-shell particles, through selective removal of the core. Electrocatalysts prepared by dispersing platinum on these hollow core materials showed remarkably high dispersion. The combination of high dispersion with short pore diffusion length allowed to obtain high mass specific activity in methanol electro-oxidation (ca. 390 A gPt− 1), along with excellent long-term stability. These novel carbon nanostructures show great promise as Pt catalyst support for methanol oxidation.

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