Nano-sized titanium carbide (TiC) was employed as the support material for an iridium (Ir) electrocatalyst in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyser (PEMWE). The Ir/TiC electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) was prepared by chemical reduction and deposition with ultrasonic dispersion. The diameter of the Ir particles deposited on the TiC support is 10-40 nm. The Ir/TiC catalyst has a pore volume of 0.1425 cm(3) g(-1), which is about two times as high as that of the corresponding unsupported In Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis indicate that the Ir particles are nearly uniformly deposited on the surface of the TiC and exhibit remarkably fine variable crystallites and crystal lattice defects, which enhance the density of active sites and greatly improves the catalytic activity of the Ir/TiC catalyst. Cyclic voltammograms (CVs) reveal that the peak current density at 1.5 V versus SCE on the Ir/TiC is about nine times of that for the unsupported Ir black catalyst and potentiostatic analysis shows that the charge passed by the Ir/TiC after 600 s at 1.3 V versus SCE is about 15 times of that for the unsupported Ir catalyst. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) shows that the electrochemical polarization impedance of the Ir/TiC catalyst is about 50 Omega cm(2) per 0.02 mg as compared to 150 Omega cm(2) of the Ir black in the range of high frequency. The diffusion polarization impedances of the Ir/TiC form a semicircle and those of the Ir black are close to a straight line with a phase angle of 45 degrees in the range of low frequency. Thus, the catalytic activity of the Ir/TiC for the OER is significantly higher than that of the unsupported Ir catalyst. The TiC support is chemically and electrochemically stable in the whole range of experimental potentials. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.