High dispersion platinum catalyst using mesoporous carbon support for fuel cells

Abstract

Porous carbon with high surface area and pore volume can allow fine dispersion of metal nano-particles. Mesoporous carbon (MC) with high surface area was synthesized using soft colloidal template route. Pt/C catalysts with different platinum loadings were prepared from home-made MC and chloroplatinic acid solution using wet impregnation. The particle size calculated from TEM analysis showed the Pt particle size of 2.7. 3.4 and 3.6 nm for 20, 40 and 80 wt.% Pt/MC catalysts, respectively. The Pt particles on the porous carbon support were found to be in uniform shape and narrow range of particle size. The dispersion feature of MC-supported Pt catalysts was also compared with that of a home-made Pt catalyst supported on commercial Vulcan carbon. CO stripping and CV analysis of MC-supported Pt catalysts showed higher mass activity for electrochemical reactions under fuel cell conditions. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.