Carbon nanowalls as platinum support for fuel cells

Platinum catalysts supported on carbon nanowalls (Pt/CNW) were prepared by a solution-reduction method. It is shown that Pt nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 3.5 nm are well dispersed along domain boundaries in each CNW. In addition, it is shown that the Pt/CNW has high electrochemical active surface area and utilization, comparable to those for commercially available T-Pt/CB with good performance. Such high electrocatalytic activity could be attributed to the high electric conductivity of CNW and the improvement of electronic properties of Pt nanoparticles on the domain boundaries, in addition to the high dispersion of Pt particles. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3662142]