Three dimensional titanium molybdenum nitride nanowire assemblies as highly efficient and durable platinum support for methanol oxidation reaction

To achieve the practical application of direct methanol fuel cells, the development of highly efficient and durable electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation reaction is urgently needed. Herein, an effective approach is developed to fabricate three dimensional porous titanium nitride with an urchin-like structure, which are composed of numerous interactive nanowire assemblies. When being used as the platinum support, the resulting electrocatalyst delivers a mass activity and specific activity that are both around 4.3 times greater with respect to Pt/C catalyst. Moreover, the activity stability and structural durability of the novel catalyst are also confirmed by comprehensive experimental analysis. This study provides a new way for improving the performance of methanol oxidation reaction by combining the advantages of three dimensional structure, inherent electrochemical durability and strong metal support interaction. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.