Oxygen Reduction on Titanium Nitride in Alkaline Electrolyte

Abstract

THE nitrides and carbides of the metals in groups IVB and VB of the Periodic Table have been studied during the course of investigations with a view to developing fuel cell catalysts for oxygen (O²) reduction in alkaline electrolyte. In general, the carbides show considerably more oxygen reduction activity than do the pure metals. By simple atomic consideration this can be attributed to the presence of carbon, which per se is a good catalyst for the reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide. The nitrides exhibit more activity than does the pure metal, but to a lesser degree than the carbides. Of special interest is the nitride of titanium, which shows considerably more activity for oxygen reduction than does pure titanium. In contrast to other metals titanium nitride is more active than titanium carbide.