Fast preparation of PtRu catalysts supported on carbon nanofibers by the microwave-polyol method and their application to fuel cells

Masaharu Tsuji; Masatoshi Kubokawa; Ryuto Yano; Nobuhiro Miyamae; Takeshi Tsuji; Mun-Suk Jun; Seonghwa Hong; Seongyop Lim; Seong-Ho Yoon; Isao Mochida

doi:10.1021/la062223u

Fast preparation of PtRu catalysts supported on carbon nanofibers by the microwave-polyol method and their application to fuel cells

Langmuir. 2007 Jan 16;23(2):387-90. doi: 10.1021/la062223u.

Authors

Masaharu Tsuji¹, Masatoshi Kubokawa, Ryuto Yano, Nobuhiro Miyamae, Takeshi Tsuji, Mun-Suk Jun, Seonghwa Hong, Seongyop Lim, Seong-Ho Yoon, Isao Mochida

Affiliation

¹ Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, Kasuga 816-8580, Japan.

PMID: 17209582
DOI: 10.1021/la062223u

Abstract

PtRu alloy nanoparticles (24 +/- 1 wt %, Ru/Pt atomic ratios = 0.91-0.97) supported on carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were prepared within a few minutes by using a microwave-polyol method. Three types of CNFs with very different surface structures, such as platelet, herringbone, and tubular ones, were used as new carbon supports. The dependence of particles sizes and electrochemical properties on the structures of CNFs was examined. It was found that the methanol fuel cell activities of PtRu/CNF catalysts were in the order of platelet > tubular > herringbone. The methanol fuel cell activities of PtRu/CNFs measured at 60 degrees C were 1.7-3.0 times higher than that of a standard PtRu (29 wt %, Ru/Pt atomic ratio = 0.92) catalyst loaded on carbon black (Vulcan XC72R) support. The best electrocatalytic activity was obtained for the platelet CNF, which is characterized by its edge surface and high graphitization degree.