Ternary MXene/TiN/V₂O₅ Hybrid Electrocatalyst for Enhanced Methanol Oxidation: Exploiting Layered, Nitride, and Oxide Synergies

The development of high-performance, noble-metal-free electrocatalysts remains a critical challenge for advancing direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). It was hypothesized that integrating Ti3C2Tx MXene with titanium nitride (TiN) and vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) would result in a synergistic electrocatalyst with enhanced conductivity, stability, and redox activity. To test this, a ternary Ti3C2Tx/TiN/V2O5 hybrid was synthesized via a two-step hydrothermal-nitridation method. Structural and morphological analyses confirmed the formation of a porous, uniformly distributed nanocomposite, consisting of exfoliated Ti3C2Tx layers, fine TiN nanoparticles, and flake-like V2O5. XRD and FESEM confirmed the successful formation of all three phases, while XPS and EDS verified elemental composition and distribution. The composite demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in 1 M KOH + 0.5 M CH3OH, achieving a high mass activity of 1246.3 mA mg–1 and a power density of 87 mW cm–2. Compared to the individual components, the ternary composite exhibited superior durability and resistance to CO-like intermediates. These findings validate the proposed design strategy and position Ti3C2Tx/TiN/V2O5 as a promising, scalable alternative to platinum-based catalysts for next-generation DMFC applications.