Synthesis of carbon supported Au-decorated PdCu nanocatalyst for formic acid oxidation

This work reports the synthesis of a novel carbon supported Au-decorated PdCu composite catalyst for formic acid oxidation. The catalyst was prepared through a two-step process. PdCu alloy was firstly prepared through co-reduction of Pd and Cu ions using ethylene glycol and sodium citrate as the reducing and stabilizing reagents. Au was decorated on the surface of the PdCu alloy through spontaneous replacements of Pd and Cu by Au. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image shows that the metallic nanoparticles are well dispersed on the carbon surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results demonstrate that the Pd 3d 5/2 binding energy (BE) of the PdCu@Au/C exhibits a positive shift in comparison with that of Pd/C and PdCu/C. The as-prepared composite catalyst exhibits higher activity towards formic acid oxidation in comparison with individual Pd. Interestingly, a significantly improved electrochemical stability of Au-decorated PdCu nanoparticles compared with the PdCu counterpart is observed.