Carbon/nafion supports for electrodeposited Pt-Ru catalysts

Carbon supported Pt-Ru (Pt-Ru/C) is one of the most promising catalyst for methanol oxidation in DMFC. The carbon support should display a high surface area for a high catalytic surface at reduced noble metal content, it should guarantee a good electrical contact among the metal particles and between the catalyst and the current collector, as well as its morphology should favor the transport of the gaseous and aqueous chemical species involved in the catalytic oxidation of methanol. Hence the carbon should have a low electrical resistance and a suitable mesoporous high “accessible” surface area. Since for a high oxidation rate of methanol the proton conductivity in the catalyst layer is an important feature, in this contribution the results of the characterization of both different high surface area-carbon powders and carbon composites with Nafion as proton conducting binder are reported. The data of the electrochemical, structural and morphological characterization of Pt-Ru catalysts supported on the carbon/Nafion composites are also presented and discussed.