Mo2N/C hybrid material as a promising support for the electro-oxidation of methanol and formic acid

•We demonstrated a novel and efficient method to fabricate Mo2N/C support.•This method can be extended to prepare other supported nitrides and oxides.•We first studied the effect of Mo2N on methanol and formic acid oxidation.

Mo2N/C hybrid support is prepared by a new and efficient method, including a self-assembly step of phosphomolybdic acid on carbon black followed by a thermal treatment under ammonia at 600 °C. TEM shows that the resulting 2–5 nm particles of Mo2N are highly dispersed on carbon black. This hybrid support is further modified with Pt nanoparticles to catalyze the oxidation of methanol and formic acid, demonstrating much higher catalytic activity and stability than Pt/C catalysts. The present work highlights an efficient preparation of Mo2N/C, and its application as a promising support for the oxidation of small organic molecules in fuel cells.