TITLE:
The Influence of Porous Features on the Electrochemical Performance of Its Supported Platinum Catalyst in Porous Carbon Nanofibers
AUTHORS:
Fangyi Mao, Yang Wang, Kang Fu, Junhong Jin, Shenglin Yang, Guang Li
KEYWORDS:
Porous Carbon Nanofibers, CaCO3, Electrospinning, Catalyst Support, Oxygen Reduction Reaction
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering,
Vol.5 No.7,
July
7,
2017
ABSTRACT: Porous carbon nanofibers (PCNFs) were prepared through electrospinning, pre-oxidation and carbonization with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as carbon precursor and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), CaCO3 as pore-forming agents. The structure, morphology, specific surface area and electrochemical performance of the carbon nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 adsorption/desorption method and electrochemical tests. Compared with PCNFs without CaCO3, PCNFs(CaCO3 1%) had higher specific surface area, better dispersion of Pt nanoparticles, and the particle size become smaller, which was corresponding with the results of electrochemical performance test. It could be seen in cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) test, ECSA of Pt/PCNFs (CaCO3 1%) attained 82 m2?g?1, while that of JM20 and Pt/PCNFs without CaCO3 were 77 m2?g?1 and 60 m2?g?1, respectively. These results revealed that CaCO3 as the second pore-forming agent can further increase the mesoporous number and specific surface area of nanofibers, and can improve the electrochemical properties of Pt catalyst as the support.