How platinum nanoparticle catalysts are affected by ion-beam modification of their support

Kimata, Tetsuya*; Kato, Sho*; Yamaki, Tetsuya; Yamamoto, Shunya; Hakoda, Teruyuki; Kobayashi, Tomohiro*; Terai, Takayuki*

Platinum (Pt) nanoparticles with high oxygen reduction reaction activity have been required for applications to polymer electrolyte fuel cells. We prepared the Pt nanoparticles on an Ar-ion-irradiated glassy carbon (GC) substrate by a radio-frequency sputtering method to investigate the influence of the ion-induced lattice defects in GC on the deposited Pt nanoparticles by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Detailed examination of both the Pt 4f and C 1s XPS spectra demonstrated that Pt-C bonding interaction occurred at the interface between the irradiated GC and Pt nanoparticles, confirming the significant effect of the Ar-ion irradiation on the electronic properties of Pt.