Electrocatalytic properties of Pt nanoparticles on glassy carbon substrate pre-irradiated with Ar ions

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

Platinum (Pt) nanoparticles having high activities for an oxygen reduction reaction have been studied intensively for applications to polymer electrolyte fuel cells. We prepared the Pt nanoparticles on a glassy carbon (GC) substrate irradiated with 380 keV Ar at the fluence of 1.010 ions/cm, and then analyzed their electrocatalytic properties by a rotating disk electrode method. The Pt nanoparticles on the Ar-ion-irradiated GC substrate exhibited ca. 2.5 times higher current density than those on the non-irradiated one. This striking result suggests that the Ar-ion-induced modification of the GC substrate would improve the electrocatalytic activities of the deposited Pt nanoparticles.