Functionalized Carbon Nanotube Matrix for Inducing Noncovalent Interactions Toward Enhanced Catalytic Performance of Met
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Functionalized Carbon Nanotube Matrix for Inducing Noncovalent Interactions Toward Enhanced Catalytic Performance of Metallic Electrode Le Q. Hoa,1,2 Hiroyuki Yoshikawa,1,2 Masato Saito1 and Eiichi Tamiya1 1 JST-CREST, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan 2 Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan ABSTRACT Herein, we investigated the noncovalent interactions derived from functionalized carbon nanotube matrices grafting metallic alloy PtRu nanoparticle-decorated Vulcan carbon (fMWCNTs-g-PtRu/C) toward the enhancement of alcohol oxidation reactions. The fMWCNTs noncovalently grafted PtRu/C was successfully synthesized and demonstrated significant enhancement of the electro-catalytic activity and stability toward alcohol oxidation reactions as revealed by electrochemical characterizations. The presented results indicate that the grafting matrix specifically enhances ethanol oxidation reaction kinetics much more than methanol and propanol oxidation reactions. Since the same loading of PtRu/C was used for all tests, the differentiation between these reactants revealed the different strength of noncovalent interactions between the functional matrix and corresponding reactants. This result reveals a new strategy for using fMWCNTs matrix as potential catalyst supports due to its facile fabrication and functionalization, cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness, factors in which all of them are necessary for the practical application of direct alcohol fuel cells in near future. INTRODUCTION The utilization of direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) technology as a viable green energy has been hindered because of the sluggish kinetics of the inefficient alcohol oxidation reactions, low durability of catalysts, difficulties in fuel cell fabrication procedures and cost effectiveness for large-scale implementation [1, 2]. It is well-established that noble metals (e.g. Pt and Au) induce efficient adsorption and dis-sociation of small organic molecules, rendering them excellent catalysts in both anode and cathode fuel cell reactions. However, such noble metals are very expensive. To reduce their cost, the conventional approach is to combine noble metals with other transition metals/metal oxides to produce bimetallic, and ternary metallic alloys. Unfortunately, the cost of transition metals for successful application, in many cases, is actually higher than that of noble metals (e.g. Rh in PtRhSnO2) [3, 4]. Despite intensive theoretical and experimental research efforts in searching for high performance low-cost materials, research into the role of matrices and solvents in oxidation reaction pathways is relatively new. Thus, further application steps in tuning electrocatalytic activities by functional matrices are under exploration. Differing from the conventional inorganic-based approach, we are utilizing carbon-based materials as functional supporting matrices to enhance the performance of low-loaded noble metal-based catalysts [5-9]. In
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