Free Platinum Electrcatalyts Based on Sulfur Doped Carbon Nanotubes as Electrocatalyst in Fuel Cells

Fuel cells are recognized as an attractive alternative for clean energy generation. However, their commercialization has been limited by the high cost of their components. Platinum supported on carbon (Pt/C) is considered a conventional electrocatalyst due to their high electrocatalytic activity. Recent research work has shown that free platinum electrocatalyst based on carbon supports doped with heteroatoms (e.g. B, N, P and S) have similar electrocatalytic activities that conventional Pt/C for oxygen reduction reaction. On the other hand, carbon nanotubes have unique properties that make them excellent candidates for use as electrocatalyst support. This work presents the synthesis of carbon nanotubes doped with sulfur (S-CNTs). All free platinum electrocatalyst were prepared by chemical vapor deposition, toluene and thiophene were used as carbon and sulfur sources, respectively. Physical characterization was done by X Ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption analysis in order to determinate structural, morphological and textural properties of the materials, respectively. Elemental composition was estimated employing energy dispersive spectroscopy. Finally, electrocatalytic activity for these materials was analyzed by cyclic voltammetry and rotary disk electrode techniques.