Graphene nanosheets modified by nitrogen-doped carbon layer to support Pt nanoparticles for direct methanol fuel cell

In this paper, we utilize aniline to form nitrogen-doped carbon layer (NCL) to modify graphene nanosheets, which serve as the support of Pt nanoparticles for direct methanol fuel cell. NCL is expected to prevent the agglomeration between graphene nanosheets, leading to better performances of the catalyst. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) tests were performed to characterize physical properties of the prepared catalysts and cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry were conducted for the electrochemical activities and stabilities toward methanol electrooxidation. The results show that the aggregation between separated graphene sheets was reduced by the NCL, leading to better dispersion of Pt nanoparticles on the graphene nanosheets. This improvement makes Pt catalyst give better activity and stability toward methanol electrooxidation.