• Carbon letters
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.198-202
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• 2015

Carbon-supported Pt catalyst systems containing defect adsorption sites on the anode of direct methanol fuel cells were investigated, to elucidate the mechanisms of H₂ dissociation and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Density functional theory calculations were carried out to determine the effect of defect sites located neighboring to or distant from the Pt catalyst on H₂ and CO adsorption properties, based on electronic properties such as adsorption energy and electronic band gap. Interestingly, the presence of neighboring defect sites led to a reduction of H₂ dissociation and CO poisoning due to atomic Pt filling the defect sites. At distant sites, H₂ dissociation was active on Pt, but CO filled the defect sites to form carbon π-π bonds, thus enhancing the oxidation of the carbon surface. It should be noted that defect sites can cause CO poisoning, thereby deactivating the anode gradually.

• Carbon letters
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.38-40
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• 2010

Carbon supported electrocatalysts are commonly used as electrode materials for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs). These kinds of electrocatalysts provide large surface area and sufficient electrical conductivity. The support of typical PEM fuel cell catalysts has been a traditional conductive type of carbon black. However, even though the carbon particles conduct electrons, there is still significant portion of Pt that is isolated from the external circuit and the PEM, resulting in a low Pt utilization. Herein, new types of carbon materials to effectively utilize the Pt catalyst are being evaluated. Carbon nanofiber/activated carbon fiber (CNF/ACF) composite with multifunctional surfaces were prepared through catalytic growth of CNFs on ACFs. Nickel nitrate was used as a precursor of the catalyst to synthesize carbon nanofibers(CNFs). CNFs were synthesized by pyrolysising $CH_4$ using catalysts dispersed in acetone and ACF(activated carbon fiber). The as-prepared samples were characterized with transmission electron microscopy(TEM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM). In TEM image, carbon nanofibers were synthesized on the ACF to form a three-dimensional network. Pt/CNF/ACF was employed as a catalyst for PEMFC. As the ratio of prepared catalyst to commercial catalyst was changed from 0 to 50%, the performance of the mixture of 30 wt% of Pt/CNF/ACF and 70wt% of Pt/C commercial catalyst showed better perfromance than that of 100% commercial catalyst. The unique structure of CNF can supply the significant site for the stabilization of Pt particles. CNF/ACF is expected to be promising support to improve the performance in PEMFC.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.12 no.2 s.49
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• pp.117-121
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• 2005

Platinum catalysts for the DMFC (Direct Methanol Fuel Cell) were impregnated on several carbon supports and their catalytic activities were evaluated with cyclic voltammograms of methanol electro-oxidation. To increase the activities of the Pt/C catalyst, carbon supports with high electric conductivity such as mesoporous carbon, carbon nanofiber, and carbon nanotube were employed. The Pt/e-CNF (etched carbon nanofiber) catalyst showed higher maximum current density of $70 mA cm^{-2}$ and lower on-set voltage of 0.54 V vs. NHE than the Pt/Vulcan XC-72 in methanol oxidation. Although the carbon named by CNT (carbon nanotube) series turned out to have larger BET surface area than the carbon named by CNF (carbon nanofiber) series, the Pt catalysts supported on the CNT series were less active than those on the CNF series due to their lower electric conductivity and lower availability of pores for Pt loading. Considering that the BET surface area and electric conductivity of the e-CNF were similar to those of the Vulcan XC-72, smaller Pt particle size of the Pt/e-CNF catalyst and stronger metal-support interaction were believed to be the main reason for its higher catalytic activity.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.715-722
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• 2022

Pt-Fe/carbon black nanocatalysts were prepared by spontaneous reduction reaction of Platinum(II) acetylacetonate and Iron(II) acetylacetonate in a nucleophilic solvent and they were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDS), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area analysis and anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis test station. The distribution of the Pt and Fe nanoparticles on carbon black was observed by TEM, and the loading weight of Pt-Fe nanocatalysts on the carbon black was measured by TGA. Elemental ratio of Fe:Pt was estimated by EDS and it was found that elemental ratio of Pt and Fe was changed in the range of 1:0 to 0:1, and the loading weight of Pt-Fe nanoparticles on the carbon black was 5.95-6.78 wt%. Specific surface area was greatly reduced because Pt-Fe nanocatalysts blocked the pores. I-V characteristics were estimated.

• Carbon letters
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.121-125
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• 2013

In this study, PtRu nanoparticles deposited on binary carbon supports were developed for use in direct methanol fuel cells using carbon blacks (CBs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The particle sizes and morphological structures of the catalysts were analyzed using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, and the PtRu loading content was determined using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. The electrocatalytic characteristics for methanol oxidation were evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry with 1 M $CH_3OH$ in a 0.5 M $H_2SO_4$ solution as the electrolyte. The PtRu particle sizes and the loading level were found to be dependent on the mixing ratio of the two carbon materials. The electroactivity of the catalysts increased with an increasing MWCNT content, reaching a maximum at 30% MWCNTs, and subsequently decreased. This was attributed to the introduction of MWCNTs as a secondary support, which provided a highly accessible surface area and caused morphological changes in the carbon supports. Consequently, the PtRu nanoparticles deposited on the binary support exhibited better performance than those deposited on the single support, and the best performance was obtained when the mass ratio of CBs to MWCNTs was 70:30.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.243-248
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• 2011

Pt deposited porous carbon nanofibers was prepared as a highly sensitive material of hydrogen gas sensor operating at room temperature. Nanofibers was obtained by electrospinning method using polyacrylonitrile as a carbon precursor and then thermally treated for carbon nanofibers. Chemical activation of carbon nanofibers was carried out to enlarge specific surface area up to $2093m^2/g$. Sputtered Pt layer was uniformly distributed keeping the original shape of carbon nanofibers. The hydrogen gas sensing time and sensitivity were improved based on effects of high specific surface area, micropore structure and deposited Pt catalyst.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.401-405
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• 2008

Pt-loaded carbon black for the catalyst of a PEM fuel cell was synthesized with different molar ratios of polyvinylpyrrolidone and $H_2PtCl_6$ solution to improve the dispersion of Pt nanoparticles on carbon black and decrease the size of Pt nanoparticles. From transmission electron microscopy results, Pt nanoparticles of a size of approximately 2 nm were highly dispersed when the polyvinylpyrrolidone concentration was 10mM. The electrochemical activity of the synthesized Pt/C catalysts was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, showing that the as-synthesized Pt-loaded carbon black catalyst had the best activity at a polyvinylpyrrolidone concentration of 10 mM.

• Carbon letters
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• v.25
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• pp.55-59
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• 2018

Carbon chain inserted carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been experimentally proven having undergone pronounced property change in terms of electrical conductivity compared with pure CNTs. This paper simulates the geometry of carbon chain inserted CNTs and analyzes the mechanism for conductivity change after insertion of carbon chain. The geometric simulation of Pt doped CNT was also implemented for comparison with the inserted one. The results indicate that both modification by Pt atom on the surface of CNT and addition of carbon chain in the channel of the tube are effective methods for transforming the electrical properties of the CNT, leading to the redistribution of electron and thereby causing the conductivity change in obtained configurations. All the calculations were obtained based on density functional theory method.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2020

Carbon supports for dispersed platinum (Pt) electrocatalysts in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are being continuously developed to improve electrochemical performance and catalyst stability. However, carbon supports still require solutions to reduce costs and improve catalyst efficiency. In this study, we prepare well-dispersed Pt electrocatalysts by introducing titanium dioxide (TiO₂) into biomass based nitrogen-doped carbon supports. In order to obtain optimized electrochemical performance, different amounts of TiO₂ component are controlled by three types (Pt/TNC-2 wt%, Pt/TNC-4 wt%, and Pt/TNC-6 wt%). Especially, the anodic current density of Pt/TNC-4 wt% is 707.0 mA g^-1_pt, which is about 1.65 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C (429.1 mA g^-1_pt); Pt/TNC-4wt% also exhibits excellent catalytic stability, with a retention rate of 91 %. This novel support provides electrochemical performance improvement including several advantages of improved anodic current density and catalyst stability due to the well-dispersed Pt nanoparticles on the support by the introduction of TiO₂ component and nitrogen doping in carbon. Therefore, Pt/TNC-4 wt% may be electrocatalyst a promising catalyst as an anode for high-performance DMFCs.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.477-481
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• 2011

Composites of insulating polyethylene and carbon black are widely used in switching elements, conductive paint, and other applications due to the large gap of resistance value. This research addresses the critical exponent of dielectric breakdown strength of polymer matrix composites (PMC) made with carbon black and polyethylene below the percolation threshold (Pt) for the first time. Here, Pt means the volume fraction of carbon black of which the resistance of the PMC is transferred from its sharp decrease to gradual decrease in accordance with the increase of carbon-black-filled content. First, the Pt is determined based on the critical exponents of resistivity and relative permittivity. Although huge cohesive bodies of carbon black are formed in case of being less than the Pt, a percolation path connecting the conducting phases is not formed. The dielectric breakdown strength (Dbs) of the PMC below Pt is measured by using an impulse voltage in the range from 10 kV to 40 kV to avoid the effect of joule heating. Although the observed Dbs data seems to be well fitted to a straight line with a slope of 0.9 on a double logarithm of (Pt-$V_{CB}$) and Dbs, the least squares method gives a slope of 0.97 for the PMC. It has been found that finite carbon-black clusters play an important role in dielectric breakdown.