Microfluidic-based controllable synthesis of Pt nanocatalysts supported on carbon for fuel cells

Abstract

A simple custom-made microfluidic reactor is used to synthesize Pt nanoparticles supported on carbon (Pt/C) as electrocatalysts for fuel cells. By varying the flow rate of reactant in the microfluidic reactor, Pt/C catalyst obtained with a flow rate of 90 μL min⁻¹ of substrate was found to be optimal for both anode and cathode electro-catalytic reactions (oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), methanol and formic acid electro-oxidation). An optimal size of Pt nanoparticles was found to be about 2.8 nm. This microfluidic reactor provides a versatile and portable approach to the large-scale synthesis of uniformly-dispersed carbon supported precious metal catalysts with high performance for fuel cells. The preparation is portable, versatile, fast and energy efficient, and can be a general method for the preparation of other supported metal and alloy systems.