Improved Charge Transfer at Carbon Nanotube Electrodes

The potential of using carbon nanotubes in fuel cells and other electrodic applications is confirmed by the investigation described here. Results of the electrocatalytic reduction of dissolved oxygen (an important H2-O2 fuel cell reaction) using microelectrodes constructed from multiwalled nanotubes are presented. Also, ab initio calculations are reported for oxygen deposited on the lattice and defect sites of nanotube surfaces to determine the charge transfer during oxygen reduction; these results are compared with those for similar reactions on planar graphite.