Electrooxidation of formic acid on carbon supported PtxPd1−x (x = 0–1) nanocatalysts

In this work, carbon supported PtxPd1−x (x = 0–1) nanocatalysts were investigated for formic acid oxidation. These catalysts were synthesized by a surfactant-stabilized method with 3-(N,N-dimethyldodecylammonio) propanesulfonate (SB12) as the stabilizer. They show better Pt/Pd dispersion and higher catalytic performance than the corresponding commercial catalysts. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic properties of PtxPd1−x/C were found to depend strongly on the Pt/Pd deposition sequence and on the Pt/Pd atomic ratio. At a lower potential, formic acid oxidation current on co-deposited PtxPd1−x/C catalysts increase with increasing Pd surface concentration. Nanoscale Pd/C is a promising formic acid oxidation catalyst candidate for the direct formic acid fuel cell.