Design of an assembly of pyridine-containing polybenzimidazole, carbon nanotubes and Pt nanoparticles for a fuel cell electrocatalyst with a high electrochemically active surface area

We describe the fabrication of a carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid wrapped by pyridine-containing polybenzimidazole (PyPBI). PyPBI acts as an efficient dispersant for CNT wrapping and produces a stable complex after removal of the unbound PyPBI. We found that the wrapped PyPBI serve as a glue for immobilizing Pt nanoparticles onto the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) without any strong oxidation process for the MWCNTs, which is often used to produce sites where metallic nanoparticles are immobilized. Based on this method, a highly homogeneous and remarkably efficient Pt loading onto the surface of MWCNTs through a coordination reaction between Pt and PyPBI has been achieved. Cyclic voltammogram measurements have revealed that the Pt nanoparticles deposited on the PyPBI-wrapped MWCNTs have a high electrochemically active surface area. Present results provide useful information for the design and fabrication of triple-phase interface structures of fuel cell electrode catalysts with high efficient performance.