The effect of sequentially electrodeposited Pd and Pt metal-supported graphene oxide on enhanced oxidation of mixed acids from biomass production

This work aims to use mixed acids from biomass production as fuel for low-temperature fuel cells. Graphene oxide (GO) carrying Pt and Pd nanoparticles homogeneously dispersed by electrodeposition was selected as a carbon support for catalyst fabrication for various electrodes to enhance the oxidation of various components of mixed acids (such as formic acid (FA) and acetic acid (AA)). The structure, surface morphology, and elemental composition of the prepared catalysts were also broadly characterized. In all cases, both noble Pt and Pd in bimetallic catalyst demonstrated that the catalytic ability of them for acid oxidation can be strongly promoted by the appropriate ratio of alloying metal, and the outer layer of Pd and Pt on the electrode affected the oxidation ability of different acid compositions. The results indicate that GO/2Pt2Pd catalysts exhibited high activity with high stability toward formic acid and the mixed acids in the biomass product containing FA and AA at a 12.5:87.5 ratio.