A novel nano-palladium complex anode for formic acid electro-oxidation

This study introduces a novel nano-sized palladium complex with high electrocatalytic activity and stability as a catalyst for the anodic reaction of direct Formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC). Morphologically, as prepared Pd-complex has intersected nano-rod like structure with an average particle size of 7 nm. Nano-Pd-complex modified GC electrode showed 10 times higher electrocatalytic activity and 16 times higher stability compared with the traditional Pd nanoparticles modified GC electrode with the same Pd weight. This significant improvement may be attributed to its small size and bulky structure that hinders the sintering of the active Pd atoms (i.e., obstructs the growth of Pd particle size) and impedes the adsorption of poisoning intermediate species (e.g., CO) and/or formation reversible surface hydride as evidenced by the DFT calculations. This study introduces a new promising category of Pd-based catalyst with high activity, catalyst utilization and durability for DFAFCs applications.

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