Electro-Catalytic Activities of Binary Nano-Composites of Pt and NanoCarbon/Multiwall Carbon Nanotube for Methanol Electro-Oxidation

Abstract

Binary nano-composites of Pt and nano-carbon (NC) and Pt and multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) have been prepared with varied compositions ranging between 20 and 80wt% Pt and investigated them as electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation. The study shows that with the increase in wt% of NC, the apparent electro-catalytic activity of the composite catalyst increases initially, reaches maximum at about 40wt% NC and decreases thereafter. However, the anodic peak current value, estimated as per mg of Pt present in the composite, increases gradually with increasing wt% of NC in the composite. The electrochemical active surface area (EASA) value for Pt in the composite electrode also increases with increasing the carbon composition in the composite. Almost similar effect of the MWCNT addition on the electro-catalytic activity is also observed in the case of Pt-MWCNT composite. Results have shown that an incorporation of carbon (NC/MWCNT) improves both the geometrical as well as the electronic properties of Pt.