Activity of Pt anode catalyst modified by underpotential deposited Pb in a direct formic acid fuel cell

We characterized the electrocatalytic activity of platinum electrode modified by underpotential deposited lead (PtPbupd) for a formic acid (HCOOH) oxidation and investigated the influence on the power performance of direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFC). Based on the electrochemical analysis using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry, PtPbupd electrode modified by underpotential deposition (UPD) exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic activity for HCOOH oxidation below anodic overpotential of 0.4 V (vs. SCE). Multi-layered PtPbupd electrode structure of Pt/Pbupd/Pt resulted in more stable and enhanced performance using 50% reduced loading of anode catalyst. The performance of multi-layered PtPbupd anode is about 120 mW/cm2 at 0.4 V and it also showed a sustainable cell activity of 0.52 V at an application of constant current loading of 110 mA/cm2.