Morphology controllable growth of Pt nanoparticles/nanowires on carbon powders and its application as novel electro-catalyst for methanol oxidation

Pt nanowires (PtNWs) have been controllably synthesized on carbon powders by the reduction of H(2)PtCl(6) with HCOOH. By adjusting the pH value of the solution, PtCl(6)(2-) can be controllable reduced into particles or nanowires. The Pt nanowires are single crystals growing along the <111> direction with a diameter of 3 nm and a length of 10 nm. The dispersion of Pt nanowires on the surface of carbon powders can be controlled by changing the loading of Pt. The PtNWs/C is evaluated as the catalyst for methanol oxidation. The PtNWs/C with 20 wt% Pt has a larger electrochemical active surface area and much higher mass activity for methanol oxidation than that of commercial Pt/C catalyst. The PtNWs/C catalyst shows significant improvement in the kinetics for methanol oxidation and mass transfer property due to the single crystal structure of the Pt nanowires. The PtNWs/C catalyst holds promising potential applications in energy converting devices and environmental protection.