A novel method has been developed to debundle carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and load Pt nanoparticles on them without damaging their graphene structures. In this article, the aniline acts as a very efficient dispersing agent to debundle CNTs from 200 to 50 nm at a very low concentration of 0.5% in an IPA/water solution. The aniline-stabilized CNTs have a larger pore volume and larger amount of mesopores than pristine CNTs, and the debundling of CNTs by aniline appears to be a physical rather than a chemical process. Meanwhile, under the presence of aniline, the Pt nanoparticles are anchored on CNTs with a uniform dispersion and small particle size distribution (1.9 ± 0.4, 2.1 ± 0.3, and 2.4 ± 0.4 nm for 14.9%, 29.1%, and 49.0% Pt/CNT, respectively). It is clear that aniline functions as a dispersant and a stabilizer in this paper. These nanocomposites are applied as electrocatalysts for the cathode of a direct methanol fuel cell. The electrochemical active surface areas of Pt/CNT catalysts are higher than that of E-TEK. Compared to the E-TEK cathode catalyst, the mass activity of Pt in 14.9% Pt/CNT is 45.9 W g−1 Pt, which is about 50% higher than that of E-TEK (31.4 W g−1 Pt). The result indicates that aniline is an efficient dispersant and stabilizer for the preparation of Pt nanoparticles deposited on CNTs. Additionally, the whole process, which could be easily scaled up for industrial production, is simple, efficient, and inexpensive.

A novel method has been developed to physically exfoliate graphite and uniformly disperse Pt nanoparticles on graphite nanoplates without damaging the graphene structures. A stable aqueous suspension of graphite nanoplates was achieved by benzylamine-assisted noncovalent fuctionalization to graphite and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. A uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles was then prepared on the graphite nanoplates, where the benzylamine acts as a stabilizer. These Pt loaded graphite nanoplates were then prepared as an electrode, which significantly increased catalytic activity toward the methanol oxidation reaction, resulting in a 60% increment in mass activity compared to that of E-TEK.

A thin layer of LiFePO4 was coated onto a mesoporous carbon sphere to obtain a mesoporous core–shell LiFePO4/carbon sphere (LFP/MCS) composite, for which the thickness of the nanoscale LiFePO4 thin shell was approximately 30–50 nm. Meanwhile, pristine LFP and MCS mixed with LFP samples (MCS‐m‐LFP) were prepared for comparison. The significantly larger surface area of LFP/MCS (43–151 m2 g−1) compared with pristine LFP (12 m2 g−1) is derived from the mesoporous carbon framework and thin nanoscale LFP shell. The large surface area of LFP/MCS provides greater surface content between the LiFePO4 shell and electrolytes, which results in a high charge–discharge rate. Also, this remarkably thin LiFePO4 cathode shell shortens the diffusion length of lithium ions thereby achieving a high charge–discharge rate for electrode materials. Consequently, under all charge–discharge rates (0.1–20 C), the specific capacities of LFP/MCS are higher than those of both the pristine LFP and MCS‐m‐LFP. More specifically, at 10 C, LFP/MCS exhibited the excellent rate performance of 82 mAh g−1, compared to 25 and 41 mAh g−1 for LFP and MCS‐m‐LFP, respectively. Furthermore, the discharge capacity for LFP/MCS at the high discharge rate of 20 C remains stable whereas that for LFP does not. This demonstrates the efficient transport capability of Li ions into the nanoscale LFP shell in the core–shell structure of LFP/MCS, which is essential for the improvement of the electrochemical performance.