Polyaniline nanofibre supported platinum nanoelectrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells

A novel polyaniline nanofibre supported platinum (Pt) nanoelectrocatalyst is developed for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Polyaniline nanofibres (PaniNFs) with a 60 nm diameter are synthesized by a scalable interfacial polymerization without the use of a template or functional dopant. PaniNF supported Pt electrocatalyst (Pt/PaniNFs) and carbon black supported Pt electrocatalyst (Pt/C) are prepared by an ethylene glycol (EG) reduction method. The Pt nanoparticles deposited onto PaniNFs have a smaller diameter (1.8 versus 2.3 nm by XRD) and narrower particle size distribution (1.5-3 nm versus 1-5 nm by TEM) than the Pt nanoparticles deposited onto carbon black. The Pt/PaniNFs catalyst shows a higher electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) and higher methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) catalytic activity than the Pt/C.