Efficient usage of highly dispersed Pt on carbon nanotubes for electrode catalysts of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2004.04.038
• Publication Date: 2004-08-05T00:12:11Z
• Authors: T Matsumoto; T Komatsu; H Nakano; K Arai; Y Nagashima; E Yoo; T Yamazaki; M Kijima; H Shimizu; Y Takasawa; J Nakamura
• Keywords: Deposition; Carbon fibers

Abstract A Pt-deposited carbon nanotube (CNT) shows higher performance than a commercial Pt-deposited carbon black (CB) with reducing 60% Pt load per electrode area in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) below 500 mA/cm 2 . K 2 PtCl 4 and H 2 PtCl 6 ·6(H 2 O) are used for the Pt deposition onto multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs), which are produced by the catalytic decomposition of hydrocarbons. The electric power densities produced using the Pt/CNT electrodes are greater than that of the Pt/CB by a factor of two to four on the basis of the Pt load per power. CNTs are thus found to be a good support of Pt particles for PEFC electrodes. TEM images show 2–4-nm Pt nanoparticles dispersed on the CNT surfaces. These high performances are considered to be due to the efficient formation of the triple-phase boundaries of gas–electrode–electrolyte. The mechanisms of Pt deposition are discussed for these Pt-deposited CNTs.