Pt supported on highly graphitized lace-like carbon for methanol electrooxidation

A simple solvothermal method has been used to synthesize highly graphitized lace-like carbon using ethanol as the carbon source and Mg as reducing agent. The GLC is characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, N-2 adsorption, Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. The GLC synthesized at optimized conditions shows interlaced structure with an average thickness of 3 nm. Platinum on GLC electrocatalysts were prepared for methanol oxidation in acidic media for the first time. They show extremely higher activity for methanol oxidation compared to Pt/C electrocatalyst for the same Pt loadings. GLCs act as structural units to form mesopores and channels in the catalyst layers, which lead to the increase of the electrochemical active surface area and improvement in the mass transport by reducing the liquid sealing effect. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.