Summary: | We report a non-hydrolytic sol-gel (NHSG) route to engineer original mesoporous Ti<i><sub>n</sub></i>O<sub>2<i>n</i>−1</sub>@TiO<sub>2</sub>/C nanocomposites. The synthetic approach is straightforward, solvent-free, additive-free, and meets the challenge of atom economy, as it merely involves TiCl<sub>4</sub> and THF in stoichiometric amounts. We found that these nanocomposites present enhanced electrocatalytic properties towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in 0.1 M KOH. We believe that these preliminary results will open a window of opportunity for the design of metal suboxides/carbon nanocomposites through NHSG routes.
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