Pt-Ru Bimetallic nanoparticles loading on activated carbon fibers without using reducing agents

Abstract

Platinum-ruthenium(Pt-Ru) bimetallic catalyst system is being used as catalyst materials of DMFCs anode due to its high tolerance for carbon monoxide poisoning. Recently, activated carbon fiber (ACF) is reported as a useful catalyst support because it has several advantages such as high dispersion of impregnated metals and low mass transfer resistance due to its uniformly developed micropores. Therefore, Pt-Ru nanoparticles loading on ACF without using reducing agents is carried out to develop an effective bimetallic catalyst. PtCl62- and Ru3+ are impregnated on ACF, and heated up to 800 degrees C in N-2. TG, XRD, TEM and EDS analyses are carried out to confirm Pt/Ru particles loading and distribution on ACF. The amount of PtCl62- impregnation is average 75% larger than that of Ru3+ at pH upto 3.5 and increases after pH 3.5 by crossing that of PtCl62-, while Ru3+ impregnation is much affected by pH. There are uniformly distributed Pt and Ru nanoparticles, which means simple impregnation and heating the PtCl62- and Ru3+ complexes up to 400 degrees C is enough to obtain pure Pt-Ru nanoparticles on ACF without using reducing agents.