Synthesis of PtNi-based functionalized MWCNTs to enhance electrocatalysis for PEM fuel cells.

Nanoscale PtNi/functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (FMWCNTs) catalysts, successfully synthesized by anchoring nickel-platinum alloy nanoparticles on FMWCNTs, are presented in this paper. Compared with conventional commercial Pt/C catalysts, the preliminary results revealed that the PtNi/FMWCNTs catalysts demonstrated not only higher specific activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) but also outstanding stability. The enhancement in the stability of the PtNi/FMWCNTs catalysts is believed to be due to the anchor effects in PtNi alloy structure, the stronger interaction between PtNi alloy nanoparticles and FMWCNTs, and the 'π sites' anchoring centers for metal nanoparticles from CNTs with high graphite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]