Ultrathin PdMo bimetallene immobilized on graphene nanosheets as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst towards formic acid and methanol oxidation reactions

The rapid development of direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) and direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technologies urgently needs to explore efficient and multifunctional electrocatalysts with acceptable costs. In this work, we introduce a convenient soft-chemistry method for the bottom-up synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin PdMo bimetallene in situ immobilized on reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (PdMo/RGO) by a robust stereoassembly procedure. The as-derived PdMo/RGO nanoarchitecture possesses a range of unique structural advantages tailored for anodic fuel cell systems , such as numerous exposed Pd atoms, bimetallic alloy and strain effects, stable 2D/2D heterointerfaces, and good electrical conductivity . As a result, the PdMo/RGO nanoarchitecture exhibits a large electrochemically active surface areas of 122.2 m 2  g −1 , a high mass activity of 994.8 mA mg −1 , as well as reliable long-term durability towards the formic acid oxidation reaction. Meanwhile, the PdMo/RGO electrocatalyst also displays exceptional electrocatalytic methanol oxidation performance with a mass activity of 1605.3 mA mg −1 in alkaline medium, which significantly surpasses that of conventional Pd nanoparticle catalysts loaded on reduced graphene oxide , carbon nanotube , and carbon black matrices.