High Active Carbon Supported PdAu Catalyst for Formic Acid Electrooxidation and Study of the Kinetics

The promotion effect of Au in the catalyst of PdAu/C for formic acid oxidation is confirmed. As the ratio of Pd:Au in the catalyst is 3:1, the PdAu/C-3 catalyst has the largest electrochemical activity compared with that of catalysts with other ratios of Pd:Au. Tafel plots are employed to examine the charge-transfer kinetics of formic acid electrooxidation. The results suggest that the reaction kinetics is faster on PdAu/C than on Pd/C. The kinetic parameters such as the charge transfer parameter and the diffusion coefficient of formic acid electrooxidation on PdAu/C electrocatalysts are obtained under the quasi-steady-state conditions. The temperature dependence of the formic acid oxidation shows that the oxidation reaction is more sensitive to temperature at 0.1 and 0.7 V.