Abstract
The atomic layer deposition (ALD) of platinum nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, to deposit Pt nanoparticles for application in PEMFCs. The morphology of Pt nanoparticles formed by ALD was examined by SEM, with different nucleation densities of carbon cloth and CNTs with different lengths of acid-treatment time. The functional groups formed on the carbon cloth with different lengths of acid-treatment time were examined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy thereby exhibiting good dispersion on acid treated cloth and carbon nanotubes. The particle density could be controlled by the substrate surface condition and cycle number. The results stated that the substrate-enhanced growth and island-growth modes are assigned to ALD of Pt on carbon cloth and nanotubes with a reported higher utilization efficiency in PEMFCs than other commercial methods.