Enhanced formic acid electro-oxidation on PdIr nanoparticles prepared by ethylene glycol-assisted NaBH4 reduction process.

: The carbon supported PdIr nanoparticles were synthesized by an ethylene glycol-assisted NaBH4 reduction method, and the mass ratio of Pd to Ir was optimized. Then, their performances for formic acid electro-oxidation (FAEO) were investigated. The XRD and TEM characterizations show that the prepared PdIr/C catalysts have small mean size and good dispersion of PdIr nanoparticles. The electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the PdIr/C catalysts have greatly enhanced performance for FAEO compared with the Pd/C catalyst. The PdIr/C catalysts show higher current density and more than 50 mV negative shift of onset and peak potential than that of the Pd/C catalyst. With the optimal mass ratio of Pd to Ir, the PdIr/C-5 catalyst presents the highest catalytic activity for FAEO.