Electrodeposited PdNi2 alloy with novelly enhanced catalytic activity for electrooxidation of formic acid

Bimetallic palladium–nickel (PdNi2) alloy catalyst has been prepared for the electrooxidation of formic acid through a simple electrodepositing approach. Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Diffraction revealed that the particle morphology and the crystalline lattice of PdNi2 alloy were highly different from those of Pd. Although the PdNi2 catalyst had less noble Pd content, the cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry results clearly demonstrated that its catalytic activity was significantly higher than that of Pd. The novel enhancement of catalytic activity was mainly ascribed to the weak absorption strength of intermediates on Pd through the interaction between Pd and additive Ni, which facilitated the formic acid oxidation through direct pathway.