A titanium nitride (TiN) inverse opal structure was fabricated on carbon paper as a support of Pt for application in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Polystyrene spheres with different diameters were coated on carbon paper by spin coating in multilayers as a template. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film was then deposited on the template by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The TiN inverse opal structure was fabricated by direct nitridation of TiO2 in flowing ammonia atmosphere at above 800 degrees C. Platinum nanoparticles were then deposited uniformly on TiN by ALD. The performances of PEMFC using Pt@TiN carbon paper composite as electrodes were examined. The homemade electrodes showed at least 13 times higher platinum specific power density than commercial E-Tek electrodes. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.