Proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) testing of Pt–Ru catalysts supported on differently prepared multiwall carbon nanotube (MCNT) supports was performed to elucidate the influence of the different supports on the operating characteristics of the catalysts under real direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) anode and H2-PEMFC anode conditions. The MCNTs were either thin, entangled or thick, disentangled. Pretreatment of the MCNTs was also done and it was either high-temperature KOH etching or annealing (graphitization). The performance of the catalysts was compared against the performance of a commercial Pt–Ru catalyst supported on a high-surface-area carbon black.
Among the different MCNT supports, the graphitized, entangled support offered the best performance in all tests, which was equal to the performance of the commercial catalyst, despite the MCNT catalyst layer was ca. 2.2 times thicker than the carbon black catalyst layer. Even for an MCNT catalyst layer, which was almost 7 times thicker than the carbon black catalyst layer, the transport limitations were not prohibitive. This confirmed the expected potential of nanotube supports for providing superior reactant transport properties of the PEMFC catalyst layers.