Methanol electrooxidation of Pt catalyst on titanium nitride nanostructured support

We report nanostructured supports prepared by heat treatment of TiO2 nanoparticles at 700, 800, or 900 °C under ammonia atmosphere. From X-ray diffraction analysis, it is found that the phase transformation of the supports from antase and rutile TiO2, TiO to TiN (TiO2 heated at 900 °C, TiO2-900) is observed. In particular, the Pt on TiO2-900 (Pt/TiO2-900) exhibits such an excellent catalytic activity toward methanol electrooxidation compared to the Pt on Vulcan XC-72. It is likely that enhanced catalytic properties of the Pt/TiO2-900 may be attributed to stability of nitride support and interaction between Pt catalyst and nitride support, which are confirmed by cycling test of supports and X-ray photoelectron spectra of Pt catalysts.

We report a TiN nanostructured support for methanol electrooxidation prepared by heat treatment of TiO2 under ammonium atmosphere. Compared to Pt on Vulcan XC-72, it is likely that enhanced catalytic properties of the Pt on TiO2 heated at 900 °C could be due to stability of nitride support and strong interaction between Pt catalyst and nitride support.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (175 K)Download as PowerPoint slide