Pt/onion-like fullerenes as catalyst for direct methanol fuel cell

Onion-like fullerenes synthesized by arc discharge in water were used as support of Pt nanoparticles as electrocatalytic materials for direct methanol fuel cell. Uniform platinum nanoparticles with the average diameter of about 4.3 nm were well dispersed on the surface of onion-like fullerenes by impregnation-reduction method. The morphologies and microstructures of the as-prepared composites were studied by means of XRD and TEM. Electrochemical analysis shows that this kind of nano material may be an excellent candidate to be used as the support of catalyst for methanol electrochemical oxidation.