Sea urchin-like mesoporous carbon material grown with carbon nanotubes as a cathode catalyst support for fuel cells

A sea urchin-like carbon (UC) material with high surface area (416 m² g⁻¹), adequate electrical conductivity (59.6 S cm⁻¹) and good chemical stability was prepared by growing carbon nanotubes onto mesoporous carbon hollow spheres. A uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles was then anchored on the UC, where the Pt nanoparticles were prepared using benzylamine as the stabilizer. For this Pt loaded carbon, cyclic voltammogram measurements showed an exceptionally high electrochemically active surface area (EAS) (114.8 m² g⁻¹) compared to the commonly used commercial E-TEK catalyst (65.2 m² g⁻¹). The durability test demonstrates that the carbon used as a support exhibited minor loss in EAS of Pt. Compared to the E-TEK (20 wt%) cathode catalyst, this Pt loaded UC catalyst has greatly enhanced catalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction, less cathode flooding and considerably improved performance, resulting in an enhancement of ca. 37% in power density compared with that of E-TEK. Based on the results obtained, the UC is an excellent support for Pt nanoparticles used as cathode catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.