Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were directly grown on a carbon cloth (DGCNTs), which were employed as the electrocatalyst support in the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The! CNTs were prepared by an iron-assisted catalyst grown method using the microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. From the morphological analysis, the as-prepared DGCNT is a multi-walled and bamboo-like structure with a diameter of 10-20 nm. The Pt-Ru electrocatalysts were deposited on the DGCNTs using sputtering process (Pt-Ru/DGCNT), which were acted as an anode in the DMFC. The diameters of Pt-Ru nanoparticles deposited on the DGCNTs are ca. 3.54 nm, which are the high-degree alloy by X-ray diffraction analysis. For fabricating a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), 0.2 mg/cm(2) Pt-Ru/DGCNT and 4.0 mg/cm(2) Pt black deposited on carbon cloth were employed as the anode and cathode, respectively, which the Nafion 117 was sandwiched in between the electrodes by a hot-pressing process. The polarization curve shows that the maximum power density is ca. 1.52 W/Pt-mg feeding I M methanol and pure oxygen to the anode and cathode, respectively, operating at 60 degrees C. The low amount of precious metal loaded on DGCNTs applied in a MEA shows a high performance, which is suitable for a DMFC.
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JOURNAL OF THE CHINESE SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS Volume: 28 Issue: 6 Pages: 571-575
