Modification of carbon nanomaterials for electrocatalytic applications

School of Science
http://sci.aalto.fi/en/
Dissertation release
13.4.2015
Modification of carbon nanomaterials for
electrocatalytic applications
Title of the dissertation
Novel carbon nanomaterials for the direct methanol fuel cell electrodes
Contents of the dissertation Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) are great candidates for portable power source
applications due to the high energy density of methanol, easy storage and fast recharging.
The sluggish kinetics of the methanol oxidation reaction at the anode and the
oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode are the key challenges in DMFC
technology. The state-of-the-art catalysts are Pt-based catalysts supported on
Carbon black. However, corrosion of carbon support and Pt aggregation result in to
fuel cell instability. On the other hand, high price of Pt inhibit the commercialization
of fuel cells.
In this thesis, Pt nanoparticles deposited on different types of carbon nanomaterials
and then were applied as DMFC anode electrodes in order to improve the stability
of the cell. In addition, highly active electrocatalysts for ORR were synthesized by
nitrogen doping of carbon nanomaterials. N-doped carbon nanomaterials showed
similar performance compared to commercial Pt-C when used as the DMFC
cathode electrode.
Field of the dissertation
Applied physics, Nanomaterials
Doctoral candidate
Maryam Borghei, M.Sc.
Born in Tehran 1983
Time of the defence
24.04.2015 time 12:00
Place of the defence
Aalto University, TUAS-building, lecture hall TU1, Otaniementie 17, Espoo
Opponent
Professor Naotoshi Nakashima, Kyushu University, Japan
Custos
Professor Esko Kauppinen, Aalto University School of Science, Department of
Applied Physics
Electronic dissertation
http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-6141-2
School of Science
electronic dissertations
https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/52
Doctoral candidate’s
contact information
Maryam Borghei, Aalto University, School of Chemical Technology, Forest Products
Department, Maryam.borghei@aalto.fi, Tel:+358 505124225
A doctoral dissertation is a public document and shall be available at Aalto University, School of Science’s
notice board in Konemiehentie 2 and at Otakaari 1, Espoo at latest 10 days prior to public defence.