Importance of Acid-Base Equilibrium in Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Formic Acid on Platinum

Electro-oxidation of formic acid on Pt in acid is one of the most fundamental model reactions in electrocatalysis. However, its reaction mechanism is still a matter of strong debate. Two different mechanisms, bridge-bonded adsorbed formate mechanism and direct HCOOH oxidation mechanism, have been proposed by assuming a priori that formic acid is the major reactant. Through systematic examination of the reaction over a wide pH range (0-12) by cyclic voltammetry and surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy, we show that the formate ion is the major reactant over the whole pH range examined, even in strong acid. The performance of the reaction is maximal at a pH close to the pK(a) of formic acid. The experimental results are reasonably explained by a new mechanism in which formate ion is directly oxidized via a weakly adsorbed formate precursor. The reaction serves as a generic example illustrating the importance of pH variation in catalytic proton-coupled electron-transfer reactions.