Influence of organic solvents in the Pt nanoparticle synthesis on MWCNT for the methanol oxidation reaction

We studied the effect of the organic solvent on the synthesis of platinum nanoparticles anchored on the surface of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (Pt NPs/MWCNT) by the reverse microemulsion method. For oil phase, three organic solvents of the same alkane chain length (six carbon atoms) were tested: hexane, cyclohexane, and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane. The total metallic content was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Pt NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The chemical structure of the oil phase influences the Pt loading and crystallite size. The catalyst prepared with 2,2,4-trimethylpentane showed the highest electrochemical active surface area, enhancing the mass and specific activity compared to the commercial electrocatalyst (Pt/C) in the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR).