A new synthesis route for sustainable gold copper utilization in direct formic acid fuel cells

In the efforts to develop a more sustainable energy mix there is an urgent need to develop new materials for environmentally friendly processes. Developing low metal loading anode catalyst with high electrocatalytic activity for liquid fuel cells remains a great challenge. Polyvinylpyrrolodone-protected AuCuC core-shell was fabricated by a facile one-pot modified chemical reduction method. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses. XRD analysis indicates the preferential orientation of catalytically active (111) planes in AuCuC core-shell nanoparticles. The inclusion of Cu in the AuCuC catalysts increased catalytic activities, which can be attributed to the increases lattice parameters. Comparative results show that AuCuC catalyst exhibited much better electrocatalytic activity and stabilization compared to commercial Au nanoparticle on carbon support catalyst. The high performance of AuCuC catalyst may be attributed to the electronic coupling or synergistic interaction between Cu core structure, and the Au shell makes it a promising for DFAFCs applications.