Nanoporous PdPt alloy as a highly active electrocatalyst for formic acid oxidation

Abstract

Nanoporous (NP) PdPt alloy with uniform ligament size and controllable bimetallic ratio is easily fabricated through the selective dealloying of Al from PdPtAl ternary alloys. Compared with commercial Pd/C, Pt/C, NP-Pd, and NP-Pt catalysts, the as-prepared NP-PdPt exhibits greatly enhanced electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation. Moreover, NP-PdPt presents superior catalytic durability upon alloying with Pt, with less loss of the formic acid oxidation activity upon long term potential scans. The NP-PdPt alloy holds great potential in applications as a promising anode catalyst in direct formic acid fuel cells.

Deactivation resistant Pd–ZrO2 supported on multiwall carbon nanotubes catalyst for direct formic acid fuel cells

“…However Pd/Pt catalyst exhibit better stability during operation of the DFAFC due to promoting the dehydrogenation reaction [11,12]. Investigation on the PdeAu catalysts revealed higher activity in the electrooxidation of formic acid than on commercial Pd catalysts [12,17]. Moreover, PdeAu catalyst turned out to be more resistant to a periodic regeneration by the anodic pulses than Pd [17].…”

“…Previous studies on Pd catalysts for formic acid electrooxidation showed that the Pd catalyst with Pt is less active than pure Pt [11]. However Pd/Pt catalyst exhibit better stability during operation of the DFAFC due to promoting the dehydrogenation reaction [11,12]. Investigation on the PdeAu catalysts revealed higher activity in the electrooxidation of formic acid than on commercial Pd catalysts [12,17].…”

Hydrogen co-reduction synthesis of PdPtNi alloy nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes as enhanced catalyst for formic acid electrooxidation

“…Many studies have shown that the Pd-based catalysts have higher electrocatalytic performances for FAO than the Pt-based catalysts [8,9]. Unfortunately, during the electrochemical process in acid medium, Pd atoms on the catalyst surface are more easily removed as compared to Pt, which results in a low lifetime of Pd catalyst [10]. In order to solve this problem, considerable efforts have been devoted to exploit the Pdbased catalysts with high electrocatalytic activity and durability by alloying with a second metal or even a third metal, such as PdPt [5,10], PdAu [11], PdAg [12], PdCu [13,14], PdNi [15e17], PdSn [18,19], PdPb [20], PdCuSn [21] and PdPtCu [22] catalysts.…”

“…In order to solve this problem, considerable efforts have been devoted to exploit the Pdbased catalysts with high electrocatalytic activity and durability by alloying with a second metal or even a third metal, such as PdPt [5,10], PdAu [11], PdAg [12], PdCu [13,14], PdNi [15e17], PdSn [18,19], PdPb [20], PdCuSn [21] and PdPtCu [22] catalysts. For example, Xu et al synthesized a nonoporous PdPt alloy with enhanced FAO electrocatalytic activity and durability through the dealloying of Al from PdPtAl alloys [10]. Lu et al reported the one-step wet chemical synthesis of bimetallic PdAg alloy nanowires, which exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity and stability towards FAO [12].…”

The Study of Pt and Pd based Anode Catalysis for Formic Acid Fuel Cell

“…By bearing in mind this special characteristic of Pd catalyst together with its low cost and high abundance impress more researchers to use Pd as a primary catalytic metal for formic acid fuel cell. Several approaches exist to further increase the formic acid oxidation efficiency of Pd: (1) alloying to combine the merits of Pd with other metals, including Pd-Pt [10], Pd-Au [11], Pd-Cu [12], and Pd-Ni [13]; (2) developing better catalyst supports to disperse these nanostructures to prevent aggregation and maximize electro catalytic activity of Pd, with grapheme as an excellent choice due to its huge surface area, high electrical conductivity, and excellent catalytic activity [14]; (3)building specific shape, architecture and structural arrangement, such as coreshell structure [15], Pd Nano chain networks [16], three dimensional palladium nanoflowers [17] and Pd nanorods [18], (4) adding cocatalyst to the catalyst system, through which a strong electronic interaction between them may lead to better performance, e.g., TiO 2 [19] and Ni 2 P [20].…”