Efficient formic acid oxidation over gallium oxide incorporated Pd containing electrocatalyst

In this work, a highly efficient Pd catalyst containing gallium oxides supported on reduced graphene oxides has been synthesized by sodium borohydride reduction method for the electro-oxidation of formic acid. The synthesized PdxGay/rGOs display outstanding electrocatalytic activity with considerably higher surface area and improved electrical conductivity during formic acid oxidation as compared to Pd/C. According to the electrochemical results the Pd6Ga4/rGO showed significantly higher electrochemical surface area (102.4 m2/g), improved catalytic activity (86 mA/cm2), smaller Tafel slope value (121 mV dec−1) and excellent durability during the electrocatalytic formic acid oxidation. Th higher turnover frequency of Pd6Ga4/rGO (4.2 × 10−1) further validates its better electrocatalytic activity. This work proves that adding gallium oxides to palladium-based electrocatalysts increases electrical conductivity and causes the uniform dispersion of palladium nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide surface.