Palladium Decorated Nickel Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon for Formic Acid Oxidation

Abstract

Carbon-supported palladium decorated nickel nanoparticles (denoted as [email protected]/C) with intimate contact of Pd and Ni was prepared by a two-step method. A series of characterizations were performed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical techniques. The results of XRD and TEM proved the Pd decorated Ni structure. Electrochemical results showed that [email protected]/C had a higher mass activity and stability to formic acid oxidation reaction than conventional Pd/C, which could be attributed to the modified electronic structure of Pd decorated nickel nanoparticles.