A Gold-Nickel Alloy as Anodic Catalyst in a Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cell

Gold-nickel alloy was synthesized by arc-melted process. The electro-oxidation of formic acid of Au-Ni alloy was investigated at room temperature by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results were compared with those at a polycrystalline gold electrode surface. It is found that Au-Ni alloy is catalytically more active than pure gold according to the comparison of the main peak potential and current density.