Preparation and electrocatalytic application of high dispersed Pt nanoparticles/ordered mesoporous carbon composites

Graphical abstract: Small Pt nanoparticles of uniform size and good dispersion are grown on the surfaces of OMCs using PDDA as a linker. The Pt nanoparticles supported on OMCs-PDDA exhibit better electrocatalytic activity than those on OMCs without PDDA modification. - Abstract: A simple approach for the synthesis of nanosized platinum particles supported on ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) was described. For the first time, we successfully used the positively charged poly-(diallydimethylammonium chloride, PDDA) to wrap OMCs and attached Pt nanoparticles (OMCs-PDDA/Pt) via electrostatic interaction. The obtained OMCs-PDDA/Pt nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrochemical methods. TEM images reveal that the Pt nanoparticles with an average size of ∼2.88 nm are uniformly dispersed on the surface of OMCs-PDDA. The electrocatalytic behavior of OMCs-PDDA/Pt modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, current-time and chronoamperometry methods using hydrazine as a redox probe. The electrochemical results indicate that the OMCs-PDDA/Pt exhibit a good electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of hydrazine than that of OMCs/Pt. All these electrochemical measurements confirm the fact that the OMCs-PDDA/Pt nanocomposites may have applications in biological and environmental sensors.