School of Science http://sci.aalto.fi/en/ Dissertation release 13.4.2015 Modification of carbon nanomaterials for electrocatalytic applications Title of the dissertation Novel carbon nanomaterials for the direct methanol fuel cell electrodes Contents of the dissertation Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) are great candidates for portable power source applications due to the high energy density of methanol, easy storage and fast recharging. The sluggish kinetics of the methanol oxidation reaction at the anode and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode are the key challenges in DMFC technology. The state-of-the-art catalysts are Pt-based catalysts supported on Carbon black. However, corrosion of carbon support and Pt aggregation result in to fuel cell instability. On the other hand, high price of Pt inhibit the commercialization of fuel cells. In this thesis, Pt nanoparticles deposited on different types of carbon nanomaterials and then were applied as DMFC anode electrodes in order to improve the stability of the cell. In addition, highly active electrocatalysts for ORR were synthesized by nitrogen doping of carbon nanomaterials. N-doped carbon nanomaterials showed similar performance compared to commercial Pt-C when used as the DMFC cathode electrode. Field of the dissertation Applied physics, Nanomaterials Doctoral candidate Maryam Borghei, M.Sc. Born in Tehran 1983 Time of the defence 24.04.2015 time 12:00 Place of the defence Aalto University, TUAS-building, lecture hall TU1, Otaniementie 17, Espoo Opponent Professor Naotoshi Nakashima, Kyushu University, Japan Custos Professor Esko Kauppinen, Aalto University School of Science, Department of Applied Physics Electronic dissertation http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-6141-2 School of Science electronic dissertations https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/52 Doctoral candidate’s contact information Maryam Borghei, Aalto University, School of Chemical Technology, Forest Products Department, Maryam.borghei@aalto.fi, Tel:+358 505124225 A doctoral dissertation is a public document and shall be available at Aalto University, School of Science’s notice board in Konemiehentie 2 and at Otakaari 1, Espoo at latest 10 days prior to public defence.