Synthesis of highly dispersed Pd/C electro-catalyst with high activity for formic acid oxidation

In this study, we present a simple process to obtain highly dispersed palladium nanoparticles on Vulcan XC-72R carbon support without any protective agent. To obtain high metal loading Pd/C catalyst without any surfactant, we modified the polyol process by employing NH₃ species as a mediation to control the reaction pathway to avoid the precipitation of Pd(OH)₂, and hence the agglomeration of Pd nanoparticles. The obtained Pd/C sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques. The results show that highly dispersed Pd/C catalyst with an average diameter of 3.0 nm could be obtained in this novel process. The activity of formic acid oxidation on this Pd/C catalyst was examined via cyclic voltammetry technique and it is found that the catalytic activity is greatly enhanced due to the reduced particle size and the improved dispersion of palladium nanoparticles on the carbon surface.