Molybdenum-containing carbon nanofiber supported palladium catalyst for formic acid oxidation reaction

Numerous studies have reported the development of Pd-based catalyst for the anode direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) that improves the electrocatalytic activities. We have now developed a carbon nanofiber embedded with carbon black (Vulcan) and molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) nanoparticles as the Pd support for the FAOR catalyst. The MoS2-Vulcan embedded carbon nanofiber (MoS-VECNF) was first prepared by electrospinning and heat treatment. The MoS-VECNF was prepared with different weight ratios of MoS2 to polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The prepared support was then loaded with 20 wt% Pd nanoparticles by the polyol method. The Pd/MoS-VECNF catalyst demonstrated a better FAOR activity and stability as compared to the Pd/VECNF catalyst with 0.10 as the optimum weight ratio. The achieved peak current density was 1.46 times higher than that of the Pd/VECNF catalyst. The presence of MoS2 nanoparticles in the carbon support produced a strong metalsupport interaction which improved the FAOR activity and stability of the catalyst. Therefore, the Pd/MoS-VECNF catalyst is suggested to be promising for DFAFC applications.(c) 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.