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Effects of morphological characteristics of Pt nanoparticles supported on poly(acrylic acid)-wrapped multiwalled carbon nanotubes on electrochemical performance of direct methanol fuel cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2012

Jun Young Oh ,
Hong Soo Choi ,
Min Seok Kim ,
Yern Seung Kim  and
Chong Rae Park
Jun Young Oh
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Advanced Materials and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carbon Nanomaterials Design Laboratory, Global Research Laboratory (GRL), Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Republic of Korea
Hong Soo Choi
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Advanced Materials and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carbon Nanomaterials Design Laboratory, Global Research Laboratory (GRL), Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Republic of Korea
Min Seok Kim
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Advanced Materials and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carbon Nanomaterials Design Laboratory, Global Research Laboratory (GRL), Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Republic of Korea
Yern Seung Kim
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Advanced Materials and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carbon Nanomaterials Design Laboratory, Global Research Laboratory (GRL), Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Republic of Korea
Chong Rae Park*
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Advanced Materials and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carbon Nanomaterials Design Laboratory, Global Research Laboratory (GRL), Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Republic of Korea
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: crpark@snu.ac.kr
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Abstract

The catalytic activity of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) significantly influences the electrochemical performance of direct methanol fuel cells. Information about the factors that influence the electrochemical activity of the catalyst themselves is scarce; hence, guidelines for the preparation of Pt NPs that yields the best performances are lacking. With consideration for this situation, we systematically investigated the relationship(s) between the characteristics of Pt NPs and their electrochemical performance. The general characteristics of Pt NPs, such as the average size, loading density, and dispersion status on the support, were varied in the presence of poly(acrylic acid)-wrapped multiwalled carbon nanotubes by controlling the preparation conditions, including the pH of the aqueous solution, the reaction temperature, and the reaction time. The enhanced catalytic activity is attributable to higher degree of dispersion, specific surface area, and electrochemically active surface area of Pt NPs. The optimized catalyst exhibits a ∼165% higher catalytic activity toward methanol oxidation than the commercial E-TEK.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 27 , Issue 15: Focus Issue: Advanced Materials for Fuel Cells , 14 August 2012 , pp. 2035 - 2045
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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