Fuel cells are potentially efficient, silent, and environmentally friendly tools for electrical power generation. One of the obstacles facing the development and the commercialization of fuel cells is the dependence on the precious metal catalyst, i.e., Platinum (Pt) and Pt - alloy, especially at the cathode where high catalyst loading used to compensate the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Pt is not only an expensive and rare element but also has insufficient durability. The development of an efficient non-precious catalyst, i.e., electrochemically active, chemically and mechanically stable, and electrically conductive, is one of the basic requirements for the commercialization of fuel cells. The bonding to carbon and nitrogen to form metal carbides and nitrides modify the nature of the d-band of the parent metal, thus improve its catalytic properties relative to the parent metals to be similar to those of group VIII noble metals. In this article, we summarize the progress in the development of the transition metal carbides (TMCs) and transition metals nitrides (TMNs) relative to their application as catalysts for the ORR in fuel cells. The preparation of TMCs and TMNs via different routes which significantly affects its activity is discussed. The ORR catalytic activity of the TMCs and TMNs as a non-precious catalyst or catalyst support in fuel cells is discussed and compared to that of the Pt-based catalyst in this review article. Moreover, the recent progress in the preparation of the nano-sized (which is a critical factor for increasing the activity at low temperature) TMCs and TMNs are discussed.

燃料电池是用于发电的潜在有效，安静且环保的工具。燃料电池开发和商业化面临的障碍之一是对贵金属催化剂（即铂（Pt）和Pt合金）的依赖，特别是在阴极处，催化剂的高负载量用于补偿缓慢的氧还原反应（ ORR）。Pt不仅是昂贵且稀有的元素，而且耐久性不足。开发有效的非贵重催化剂，即电化学活性，化学和机械稳定性以及导电性，是燃料电池商业化的基本要求之一。与碳和氮结合形成金属碳化物和氮化物会改变母体金属d波段的性质，因此，相对于母体金属，它的催化性能提高到类似于第VIII族贵金属的催化性能。在本文中，我们总结了过渡金属碳化物（TMC）和过渡金属氮化物（TMN）在燃料电池中作为ORR催化剂的应用方面的进展。讨论了通过不同途径制备TMC和TMN的方法，这些方法会显着影响其活性。在这篇综述文章中，讨论了TMC和TMN作为燃料电池中的非贵重催化剂或催化剂载体的ORR催化活性，并将其与Pt基催化剂的ORR催化活性进行了比较。此外，讨论了制备纳米级（这是增加低温下活性的关键因素）TMC和TMN的最新进展。