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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
The most known utilization of catalysts is the use of metal nanoparticles on the electrode of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell on which the electrode consists of catalyst, either Pt or Pd on a carbon support. In this research porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon nanofibers comprising nanosized metal particles are produced using electrospinning technique. By the optimization of polymer chemistry, electrospinning variables and carbonization procedures the effective metal size is reduced up to 5 nm. It is still possible to enhance the catalytic performance by decreasing the metal concentration and/or enable using less catalytic material for equivalent catalytic performance which can lead to cost savings, amongst other advantages.