The extended Stober method for synthesizing nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanospheres supported Pt nanoparticles towards methanol oxidation in alkaline media

Heteroatom-doped porous carbon materials have emerged as attractive catalyst supports of Pt nanoparticles in the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Herein, the simple extended Stober method towards nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanospheres (NPCs) is reported by polymerizing of 3-aminophenol-formaldehyde (APF) resin spheres. The synthesized NPCs were applied as a carrier for Pt nanoparticles to fabricate the Pt@NPCs catalyst for methanol oxidation. Compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst, Pt@NPCs showed the larger electrochemi-cally active area (93.6 m(2) g(-1)), higher peak current density (95.91 mA.cm(-2)) and better stability in alkaline media. This improved performance can be attributed to the porous structure of NPCs and nitrogen atoms doped in the carbon matrix increasing the dispersion of the Pt particles on the NPCs catalyst.