Hydrogen Production from Formic Acid Attained by Bimetallic Heterogeneous PdAg Catalytic Systems

The production of H-2 from the so-called Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) has recently received great focus as an auspicious option to conventional hydrogen storage technologies. Among them, formic acid, the simplest carboxylic acid, has recently emerged as one of the most promising candidates. Catalysts based on Pd nanoparticles are the most fruitfully investigated, and, more specifically, excellent results have been achieved with bimetallic PdAg-based catalytic systems. The enhancement displayed by PdAg catalysts as compared to the monometallic counterpart is ascribed to several effects, such as the formation of electron-rich Pd species or the increased resistance against CO-poisoning. Aside from the features of the metal active phases, the properties of the selected support also play an important role in determining the final catalytic performance. Among them, the use of carbon materials has resulted in great interest by virtue of their outstanding properties and versatility. In the present review, some of the most representative investigations dealing with the design of high-performance PdAg bimetallic heterogeneous catalysts are summarised, paying attention to the impact of the features of the support in the final ability of the catalysts towards the production of H-2 from formic acid.