Preparation and characterization of highly ordered graphitic mesoporous carbon as a Pt catalyst support for direct methanol fuel cells

Mesoporous carbon with graphitic pore walls is highly desired in many electrochemical applications such as fuel cells and lithium ion batteries. In this study, ordered graphitic mesoporous carbon was prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of benzene in the pores of mesoporous SBA-15 pure-silica template without loading any catalytic species. Nitrogen adsorption, small-angle X-ray scattering, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrometry, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis techniques were used to characterize the samples. It was observed that the CVD method affords highly ordered mesoporous carbon with graphitic pore walls and low carbon shrinkage because of the high degree of infiltration of pyrolytic carbon. The catalytic performance of the mesoporous carbon as a support for Pt catalyst in room-temperature methanol oxidation was examined. Results show that the specific activity of the Pt catalyst supported on the mesoporous carbon is higher than that of a commercial Pt catalyst form E-TEK.