Pd catalyst exhibits exceptional electrocatalytic performance in formic acid oxidation, and suitable supports contribute to the stability and dispersion of Pd particles, which enables Pd particles to give full play of the catalytic performance. Accordingly, we synthesized reduced graphene oxide supported Pd nanoparticles (Pd/RGO) as electrocatalysts for direct formic acid fuel cell by chemical reduction in three different reduction temperatures (0℃, 25℃ and 50℃) with sodium borohydride as reducer. XRD, Raman, XPS, TGA, TEM and BET were employed to characterize the surface morphology and structure of Pd/RGO samples. The electrocatalytic properties of the Pd/RGO electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation were measured by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Emphasis was put on analyzing the impact of reduction temperature on the structure and electrocatalytic performance of the Pd/RGO electrocatalysts. The results indicate that Pd/RGO catalysts prepared under the reduction temperature of 0℃ show the largest specific surface area (261 m2•g-1), with well dispersed Pd nanoparticles and the smallest Pd particle size of 4.16 nm on average; meanwhile this Pd/RGO presents the largest electrochemically active surface area (3.02 cm2) and the highest peak current density (1 820 mA•mg-1 Pd) towards formic acid electrooxidation. © 2019, Materials Review Magazine. All right reserved.
