Monodispersed hard carbon spherules as a catalyst support for the electrooxidation of methanol Original Research Article

Hard carbon spherules (HCS) were used as support of Pt nanoparticles as electrocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that the size of the Pt particles on HCS by reduction of K2PtCl6 with ethylene glycol is 4–5 nm. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) study reveals that the Pt particles on the HCS surface have faceted crystalline structures. The size and aggregation of the Pt particles depend on the surface properties of the carbon support and the medium of the reduction reaction. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic polarization experiments show that the Pt/HCS catalyst exhibits a higher catalytic activity in the electrooxidation of methanol than either the Pt/MCMB or the commercial Pt/Vulcan XC-72 catalyst does.