Pt nanoparticles supported on N-doped TiO₂/C composite supports for fuel cell catalysis

Commercial Pt/C catalyst in Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) usually suffers from Pt agglomeration, dissolution, and carbon support corrosion—exacerbated by Pt-catalyzed carbon oxidation. To address these challenges, composite supports combining high stability and electronic synergy with Pt have emerged as a promising solution. Herein, a platinum nanoparticle catalyst supported on a nitrogen-doped titania/carbon composite (Pt NPs/TiO₂-N/C) was successfully fabricated via a two-step hydrothermal method, aiming to optimize both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics and durability through regulated support structures and interfacial interactions. Experimental results demonstrate that strong metal-support interactions (SMSI) between Pt and TiO₂-N/C play a critical role. On one hand, SMSI induces electron transfer from the support to Pt, enhances ORR kinetics. On the other hand, this interaction promotes preference nucleation and distribution of Pt on TiO₂-N surfaces, reducing direct Pt-carbon contact and effectively inhibiting Pt-catalyzed carbon corrosion, thereby improving durability. The Pt NPs/TiO₂-N/C catalyst exhibits excellent ORR activity with a half-wave potential of 0.842 V (vs. RHE) and remarkable stability, showing only a 33 mV decay in half-wave potential after 5000 accelerated degradation test cycles. This study validates that precise regulation of metal-support electronic interactions enables synergistic optimization of catalytic activity, stability, providing a theoretical basis and practical strategies for the rational design of high-performance PEMFC catalysts.