Characterization of carbon fibrous material from platanus achenes as platinum catalysts support

Abstract

Carbon materials with developed porosity are usually used as supports for platinum catalysts. Physico-chemical characteristics of the support influence the properties of platinum deposited and its catalytic activity. In our studies, we deposited platinum on carbon fibrous like materials obtained from platanus seeds - achenes. The precursor was chemically activated with different reagents: NaOH, pyrogallol, and H2O2, before the carbonization process. Platinum was deposited on all substrates to study the influence of the substrate properties on the activity of the catalyst. Carbon materials were characterized by nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms measurements, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. It was noticed that the adsorption characteristics of carbon support affected the structure of platinum deposits and thus their activity.