Partially oxidized titanium carbonitride as a non-noble catalyst for oxygen reduction reactions

Partially oxidized titanium carbonitride (TiCNO), newly synthesized from partial oxidation of TiC0.5N0.5 powder under a flow rate of 500 cm3 min−1 of nitrogen containing 4% H2 and 0.5% O2 by volume at 800 °C for 20 h, is examined as a non-platinum cathode for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). TiCNO shows significantly enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) compared with as-prepared TiC0.5N0.5 and fully oxidized TiO2. In addition, TiCNO has a high chemical stability in 0.1 mol dm−3 sulfuric acid at 30 °C.