Effect of surface modification of mesoporous carbon supports on the electrochemical activity of fuel cells

Soo-Jin Park; Byung-Ju Kim; Seul-Yi Lee

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2013.04.009

Effect of surface modification of mesoporous carbon supports on the electrochemical activity of fuel cells

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2013 Sep 1:405:150-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2013.04.009. Epub 2013 Apr 19.

Authors

Soo-Jin Park¹, Byung-Ju Kim, Seul-Yi Lee

Affiliation

¹ Korea CCS R&D Center, Korea Institute of Energy Research, 152 Gajeongro, Yuseoung-gu, Daejeon 305-343, Republic of Korea. sjpark@inha.ac.kr

PMID: 23759322
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2013.04.009

Abstract

Mesoporous carbon (MC) was prepared from mesoporous silica (SBA-15) via a conventional templating method for use as a Pt-Ru catalyst support in fuel cells. The effect of surface modifications of the carbon support at different pH on the electrochemical activities of the Pt-Ru/MC catalysts was investigated. The Pt-Ru nanoparticle size and loading were dependent on the surface characteristics of the MC. Base-modified MC-supported Pt-Ru showed the smallest average nanoparticle size (3.3 nm) and the highest loading (77%) among the chemically modified MC-supported Pt-Ru catalysts. The electrochemical activity of the catalysts was enhanced when the MC supports were treated with basic or neutral agents rather than by acid modification.