Electrocatalytic Activity of Pt Grown by ALD on Carbon Nanotubes for Si-Based DMFC Applications

Abstract

We present an anode design for silicon-based direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications. Platinum was deposited conformally by atomic layer deposition (ALD) onto vertically aligned, nitrogen-doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) grown on porous silicon. The deposition was carried out in a top-flow ALD reactor at 250{degree sign}C, using MeCpPtMe3 and O2 as precursors. The anode was tested for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in a three-electrode electrochemical set-up and it showed improved catalytic activity compared to a reference sample of Pt deposited on flat Si. It is demonstrated that ALD could be a MEMS compatible deposition technique for Si-based fuel cell applications.