Mesopore-controllable Carbon Aerogel and their Highly Loaded PtRu Anode Electrocatalyst for DMFC Applications

Catalyst loading and layer thickness are crucial factors to enhance the cell performance and to reduce cost of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). Outstanding properties, such as large surface area to disperse metal nanoparticles and sufficient pore volume and size, is needed in utilization of fuel cell. Carbon aerogels are one of the good candidates that meets the above conditions. Those are synthesized by polycondensation reaction of resorcinol and formaldehyde (RF) polymer, supercritical drying to keep pore skeleton structure caused by capillary force and calcination of RF polymer in nitrogen atmosphere to be controllable meso pore (2∼43 nm) as role of support for electric conductor and dispersion of metal nanoparticles. In order to utilization of anode catalyst in direct methanol fuel cell, highly loaded (80 weight percent) platinum and ruthenium onto carbon aerogel are synthesized by Bönnemann colloid method. The single cell test of carbon aerogel supported PtRu anode catalyst is performed and over 40 nm pore sized-catalysts are the best performance due to sufficient surface area to anchor uniform and small metal nanoparticles and good pathway to drive fuel and outgas even though PtRu nanoparticles are anchored on the outer surface of carbons.