Development of porous carbon electrodes for direct methanol fuel cells

Porous carbon electrodes containing platinum and platinum-ruthenium catalysts are prepared by a rolling technique with polytetrafluoroethylene as a binder. The 5 and 10 wt.% of the catalyst is deposited on a carbon substrate (Vulcan XC-72) by a colloidal dispersion technique. Half-cell polarization studies in 2.50 M H2SO4 electrolyte containing CH3OH (1.0–3.0 M) have been carried out. The polarization values of electrodes containing platinum-ruthenium are lower than that of catalysts containing platinum only. Porous electrodes containing 2–5.0 mg cm−2 of catalyst exhibit a polarization value of less than 300 mV at 100 mA cm−2 at 60 °C in 2.50 M H2SO4.