Hollowed carbon capsule based Pt-Fe/carbon electrodecatalysts prepared by chemical vapor infiltration method

Abstract

A new type of hollowed carbon capsule (HCC) material has been fabricated and utilized as a support for Pt-Fe catalyst by means of chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) method. The supported Pt-Fe/HCC catalyst was found to possess cavities with sizes around 20-40 nm and well-dispersed Pt-Fe alloy particles embedded on the internal graphitic carbon walls and hence can be used as potential electrodecatalyst for fuel cells. Preliminary performance tests by cyclic voltammetry revealed that the supported Pt-Fe/HCC catalyst has electrochemical properties compatible to a common commercial catalyst. The formation mechanism of the HCC material is also proposed. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.