Electrochemical properties of carbon nanowalls synthesized by HF-CVD

Carbon nanowalls are grown on silicon substrates through bias assisted Hot Filament Chemical Vapour Deposition (HF-CVD). Different morphology and density are obtained varying the process parameters. Platinum nanoparticles are electrodeposited on nanowalls by galvanostatic polarization to test the effectiveness of their use as electrocatalyst substrates. The electrochemical active surface is determined by cyclic voltammetry and the electrocatalytic activity is tested by measuring the methanol oxidation. A comparison between carbon powder and carbon nanowalls substrates is per-formed. A correlation between the morphology and electrocatalytic performance of platinum is found. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.