Preparation of highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles supported on single-walled carbon nanotubes by a microwave-assisted polyol method and their remarkably catalytic activity

Both narrow size and highly homogeneous distribution of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) are achieved on single-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized by carboxylic groups using ethylene glycol as reducing agents. Transmission electron microscope images show that the Pt NPs have an average particle size of about 2.1 nm and are homogeneously dispersed on the surface of SWCNTs. The electrochemical measurements show the resulting Pt NPs on SWCNTs (Pt/SWCNTs) exhibit competitively catalytic activity for methanol and ethanol electro-oxidation compared to Pt NPs on carbon black (Pt/C). The peak current density of Pt/SWCNTs for methanol and ethanol oxidation is 3.8 and 2.3 times higher than that of Pt/C. The most striking merit of the Pt/SWCNTs is its much better anti-poisoning ability than the Pt/C. The significantly improved performance is ascribed to more anchoring sites of SWCNTs, which improve the dispersion of Pt NPs and increase the utilization of Pt. The proposed synthesis route provides a facile, feasible and effective method for developing highly efficient electro-catalysts.