Correlations between properties and activity of platinum supported on modified carbon nanotubes with pyridines

Using chemically modified supports is a strategy to differentiate metal deposition, catalyst morphology and properties and, ultimately, the electrochemical activity towards the multiparametric and structure-sensitive Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR). Functionalized carbon nanotubes with pyridine groups, oxpyMWCNT, is a support that allows fine spatial dispersion of nanoparticles. This work reports the development of Pt supported on oxpyMWCNT with different metal loadings using the polyol method in alkaline reaction media. The effect of the pH value of the reaction solution and the reduction time on the deposition, the morphological and surface characteristics of the formed electrocatalysts was thoroughly investigated. The electrochemical performance of the aforementioned electrocatalysts towards ORR was evaluated. By using the aforementioned support, small particle size and fine and homogeneous dispersion were achieved that allowed the correlation between the properties and the electrocatalytic activity. Thus, there is a discussion about how mass and specific activity towards ORR are simultaneously affected by metal-support interactions, interparticle distance (particle proximity) and nanoparticle size.

Automated summary

This study utilized oxpyMWCNT functionalized with pyridine groups as a support to develop Pt supported catalysts, examining the impact of different metal loadings. It was found that using this support allowed for small particle size and homogeneous dispersion, affecting the correlation between properties and electrocatalytic activity.