Metallic Pd is widely recognized as an efficient electrocatalyst for the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR), which unfortunately suffers from poor durability owing to Pd dissolution and CO poisoning. The present work describes an effective method to enhance Pd durability by alloying with Cu and Au. Cu could provide surface OH at low potentials to remove poisonous CO for improved CO resistance. Au, the most inert metal, was added to reduce Pd and Cu dissolution. Moreover, alloying with Cu and Au could also modulate the electronic structure of Pd which is just profitable for the FAOR. The constructed PdCuAu with a nanoporous structure exhibits a specific activity of 14.9 mA cm-2 and a Pd mass activity of 6012 A g-1, which is ∼15 times and ∼14 times higher than those of commercial Pd/C. While these two electrocatalysts were used as fuel cell anodes, the maximum power density of the PdCuAu anode (Pd loading 10 μg cm-2) is 93.2 mW cm-2 and the value of the Pd/C anode (Pd loading 1.2 mg cm-2) is 60.3 mW cm-2. The power efficiency of Pd has been notably increased by 185 times in this home-made nanoporous PdCuAu ternary alloy electrocatalyst.
Keywords: PdCuAu; durability; formic acid oxidation; fuel cell; nanoporous.