Dispersed stabilized Pt nanoparticles synthesized from an organometallic precursor on Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) are novel types of nanostructured materials with unique structural, electrical and mechanical properties. In addition, carbon materials have been employed to support metallic nanoparticles (NPs) for electrochemical applications. In this work, we investigated the synthesis of platinum NPs starting from Pt2(dba)3, (dba= dibenzylideneacetone) synthesized in the laboratory and decomposed under H2 atmosphere in THF in presence of hexadecylamine and functionalized Singlewalled CNTs (SWCNTs). This method is a good alternative to disperse metallic NPs on SWCNTs. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were carried out to study the structure of Pt/SWCNTs. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) studies revealed well dispersed and isolated platinum NPs (2-3 nm). Additionally, Infrared Spectroscopy measurements were used to study the presence of the stabilizer (HDA) on the surface of the Pt NPs.