Hydrogenated TiO2 Carbon Support for PtRu Anode Catalyst in High‐Performance Anion‐Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The availability of durable, high‐performance electrocatalysts for the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) is currently a constraint for anion‐exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs). Herein, a rapid microwave‐assisted synthesis method is used to develop a core–shell catalyst support based on a hydrogenated TiO2/carbon for PtRu nanoparticles (NPs). The hydrogenated TiO2 provides a strong metal‐support interaction with the PtRu NPs, which improves the catalyst's oxophilicity and HOR activity compared to commercial PtRu/C and enables greater size control of the catalyst NPs. The as‐synthesized PtRu/TiO2/C‐400 electrocatalyst exhibits respectable performance in an AEMFC operated at 80 °C, yielding the highest current density (up to 3× higher) within the catalytic region (compared at 0.80–0.90 V) and voltage efficiency (68%@ 0.5 A cm−2) values in the compared literature. In addition, the cell demonstrates promising short‐term voltage stability with a minor voltage decay of 1.5 mV h−1. This “first‐of‐its‐kind in alkaline” work may open further research avenues to develop rapid synthesis methods to prepare advanced core–shell metal‐oxide/carbon supports for electrocatalysts for use in the next‐generation of AEMFCs with potential applicability to the broader electrochemical systems research community. Who says catalysts cannot be strong too? Here, a metal‐oxide support is introduced to enhance the stability of a platinum‐ruthenium electrocatalyst for the hydrogen oxidation reaction in alkaline environments. The interactions between the metal‐oxide and metal nanoparticles foster strong metal support interactions that translate to enhanced fuel cell performance and stability. This strategy can mitigate carbon corrosion issues in electrocatalysts.