Synthesis of Highly Dispersed Porous Pt Nanostructures via Ionic Diffusion Control for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity

A simple strategy is described for the synthesis of a highly dense and interconnected porous Pt electrode using a templated agarose-gel thin film, in an attempt to produce a high performance electrode. 3D porous networks with the water filler within agarose-gel act as guide-tunnels for the restricted diffusion of Pt anions. These unique diffusion characteristic resulted in the formation of porous and interconnected 2D-planar Pt nanostructure. As an electrocatalytic material for methanol oxidation, this novel structure plays a positive role in producing a material with a higher current density than that of commercial Pt/C.