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Environmentally Friendly Fabrication of Surface‐Modified MWNT‐Supported Pt Nanocomposites for PEMFCs
Author(s) -
Lee S. H.,
Teshima K.,
Jang I. Y.,
Kim Y. J.,
Sonobayashi Y.,
Sugimura H.,
Endo M.,
Oishi S.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
fuel cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1615-6854
pISSN - 1615-6846
DOI - 10.1002/fuce.200900115
Subject(s) - x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , carbon nanotube , materials science , nanocomposite , raman spectroscopy , chemical engineering , desorption , adsorption , surface modification , catalysis , nanoparticle , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , optics , engineering
The functionalisation process of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is required as a primary step in fabricating CNTs‐supported composites. In this study, multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were treated under N 2 atmospheric pressure plasma in order to functionalise their sidewalls with nitrogen‐containing and other functional groups. The surface‐treated MWNTs with –NO, –NH 2 and other functional groups grafted on their sidewalls were analysed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, a certain amount of structural disorder generated by the continuous decoration of functional groups on the MWNT sidewalls was investigated by Raman spectroscopy and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The functional groups introduced by N 2 atmospheric pressure plasma were used as the chemical reaction sites for fabricating the Pt/MWNT nanocomposites. The deposition manner of Pt nanoparticles from their precursor ions (PtCl 2– 6 ) was positively correlated with the proportion of the surface functional groups. The plasma‐treated MWNT‐supported platinum catalysts exhibited higher electrochemical activity for hydrogen adsorption/desorption and methanol oxidation than did the catalysts prepared with MWNTs treated by HNO 3 /H 2 SO 4 . These results were due to the uniformly deposited Pt nanoparticles on the MWNTs caused by the strong interactions between the Pt precursors and the functional groups formed by N 2 atmospheric pressure plasma.