Spherical carbon capsules with hollow macroporous core and mesoporous shell structures as a highly efficient catalyst support in the direct methanol fuel cell.

Carbon capsules with hollow core and mesoporous shell (HCMS) structures were used as a support material for Pt(50)-Ru(50) catalyst, and the catalytic performance of the HCMS supported catalyst in the direct methanol fuel cell was described; the HCMS carbon supported catalysts exhibited much higher specific activity for methanol oxidation than the commonly used E-TEK catalyst by about 80%, proving that the HCMS carbon capsules are an excellent support for electrode catalysts in DMFC.