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An Effective Pd–Ni 2 P/C Anode Catalyst for Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells
Author(s) -
Chang Jinfa,
Feng Ligang,
Liu Changpeng,
Xing Wei,
Hu Xile
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201308620
Subject(s) - formic acid , anode , catalysis , palladium , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , nickel , materials science , phosphide , inorganic chemistry , chemical engineering , chemistry , electrode , organic chemistry , metallurgy , engineering
The direct formic acid fuel cell is an emerging energy conversion device for which palladium is considered as the state‐of‐the‐art anode catalyst. In this communication, we show that the activity and stability of palladium for formic acid oxidation can be significantly enhanced using nickel phosphide (Ni 2 P) nanoparticles as a cocatalyst. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals a strong electronic interaction between Ni 2 P and Pd. A direct formic acid fuel cell incorporating the best Pd–Ni 2 P anode catalyst exhibits a power density of 550 mW cm −2 , which is 3.5 times of that of an analogous device using a commercial Pd anode catalyst.