Synthesis of highly dispersed platinum nanoparticles on multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their electrocatalytic activity toward hydrogen peroxide

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes were successfully coated with Pt nanoparticles through NH3 gas pretreatment. Pt with particle size distribution of 1-4 nm was highly dispersed on carbon nanotubes. Cyclic voltammetry of ferrocyanide system was used to characterize the real electroactive surface area of platinum nanoparticle-multiwalled carbon nanotube (PtNP-MWCNT) coated glassy carbon electrode, and cyclic voltammetry for the PtNP-MWCNT coated electrode toward detecting H2O2 was measured to characterize the electrocatalytic property of the composite. Our results showed that the electroactive surface area of PtNP-MWCNT was higher than those of pristine multiwalled carbon nanotubes and Pt nanoparticles, and the composite exhibited the best electrocatalytic property for H2O2. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.