Making electrocatalyst supports for fuel cells

A method of making a catalyst for an electrode for a fuel cell comprising:

• co-dispersing compounds of titanium and a salt or alkoxide of a dopant element as solutes or a sol in a liquid alcohol or water/alcohol_medium, the dopant element being selected to enhance the electrical conductivity of the catalyst;
• dispersing insoluble pore-forming particles in the liquid alcohol or water/alcohol medium using ultrasonic vibration of the medium, the pore-forming particles being no larger than about twenty nanometers in largest dimension;
• precipitating the dispersed compounds of titanium and dopant element on the pore-forming particles;
• separating the precipitate from the liquid alcohol or water/alcohol medium;
• heating the precipitate in a controlled atmosphere to form crystalline, dopant element-containing titanium dioxide particles;
• removing the embedded pore-forming particles from the crystalline, dopant element-containing titanium dioxide particles to leave surface-area increasing internal and external pores in the crystalline, dopant element-containing titanium dioxide particles;
• and
• depositing catalyst particles on the crystalline, dopant element-containing titanium dioxide particles to form the catalyst for an electrode for a fuel cell.