Carbon cryogel as support of platinum nano-sized electrocatalyst for the hydrogen oxidation reaction

Abstract

The kinetics of hydrogen oxidation reaction was studied in perchloric acid solution on carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles using the rotating disk electrode technique. Carbon cryogel and commercial carbon black. Vulcan XC-72 were used as catalyst supports. Pt/C catalysts were prepared by a modified polyol synthesis method in an ethylene glycol (EG) solution. Considerable effect has been observed for the specific surface area of carbon support on the fundamental properties of Pt/C catalyst, such as catalyst particle size distribution and dispersion as well as catalytic activity for the oxidation of hydrogen. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that the particle size of the catalyst decreases with the increase of specific surface area of carbon support. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used for determination of the actual exposed surface area of catalyst particles. It was found that Pt catalyst prepared by using the novel carbon material displayed better hydrogen electrochemical oxidation activity than the catalyst prepared by using Vulcan XC-72. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.