Increasing Pt methanol oxidation reaction activity and durability with a titanium molybdenum nitride catalyst support

Titanium molybdenum nitride (Ti0.8Mo0.2N) hybrid support is prepared by a facile and efficient method, including a one-pot solvothermal process followed by a thermal treatment under ammonia at 750 degrees C, and this hybrid support is further decorated with Pt nanoparticles to catalyze the oxidation of methanol. The catalyst is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption/desorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical measurements. XRD and TEM results show that the synthesized Ti0.8Mo0.2N is formed as a single-phase solid solution with high purity. Notable, Ti0.8Mo0.2N supported Pt catalyst exhibits a much higher mass activity and durability than that of the conventional Pt/C (E-TEK) electrocatalysts for methanol electrooxidation. The experimental data indicates that the Mo doping has the bifunctional effect that improves the performance and durability of the supported Pt NPs by inducing both co-catalytic and electronic effects. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.