Preparation and electrocatalytic properties of Pd/PMo12-GN composite towards formic acid oxidation

The Pd/PMo12-GN composite film was prepared by electrochemical reduction, in which GN prepared from GO reduction under UV irradiation and simultaneously functional embellished by PMo12. The as-prepared composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscope, scanning electron microscope and transmis- sion electron microscope. It was shown that Pd/PMo12-GN composite was successfully prepared and Pd particles were uniformly-dispersed with a small particle size on the PMo12-GN substrate. Cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometric curves, CO-stripping curves and EIS were used to discuss the electrocatalytic activities of the Pd/PMo12-GN composite film. The results indicated that the as-prepared composite film presented better electrocatalytic activity, stability, CO tolerance ability, and electric conductivity towards formic acid oxidation as compared with commercial Pd/C catalyst. The enhancement in electrochemical performance of the Pd/PMo12-GN composite film can be attributed to the syner- gistic effect of highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles on the PMo12-GN substrate and higher oxidation power of PMo12 which promotes the removal of the poisonous species on the Pd surface.