Synthesis of highly dispersed and active palladium/carbon nanofiber catalyst for formic acid electrooxidation

Highly dispersed and active palladium/carbon nanofiber (Pd/CNF) catalyst is synthesized by NaBH4 reduction with trisodium citrate as the stabilizing agent. The obtained Pd/CNF catalyst is characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the Pd nanoparticles with an average particle size of ca. 3.8 nm are highly dispersed on the CNF support even with a small ratio of citrate to Pd precursor, which is believed to be due to the pH adjustment of citrate stabilized colloidal Pd nanoparticles. The cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry techniques show that the obtained Pd/CNF catalyst exhibits good catalytic activity and stability for the electrooxidation of formic acid. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.