Patent ID: 8603934

Claim:
A carbon nanosphere-supported catalyst, comprising: carbon nanospheres dispersed in an ionomer, the carbon nanospheres each comprising at least one opening, and the carbon nanospheres having an average diameter of about 100 nm to about 350 nm and an average carbon wall thickness of about 5 nm to about 30 nm; and metal catalyst particles uniformly distributed on inner and outer surfaces of the carbon nanospheres, the metal catalyst particles having an average particle size of about 2 nm to about 5 nm, wherein the carbon nanospheres are prepared by: heating a copper tartrate in a preheating region; heating the copper tartrate, a dilution gas, and a hydrocarbon gas in a reaction furnace to grow the carbon nanospheres; and treating the carbon nanospheres with an acid to form the at least one opening, wherein the temperature in the reaction furnace is about 450° C. to about 660° C., wherein the temperature in the preheating region is about 100° C. to about 200° C., and wherein the residence time in each of the preheating region and the reaction furnace is about 20 to 40 minutes.