Electrodeposited Pd, PdCd, and PdBi nanostructures: Preparation, characterization, corrosion behavior, and their electrocatalytic activities for formic acid oxidation

Abstract In this study electrodeposition of Pd, Pd Cd, and Pd Bi nanostructures by chronoamperometry method on a glassy carbon electrode was investigated. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed that the Pd(1) and Pd(2) samples have smaller particle sizes compared to the Pd Cd and Pd Bi samples. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and EDX mapping analyses were used to study morphology and elemental analysis of the studied samples. The X-ray diffraction analyses of Pd Cd and Pd Bi samples confirmed the formation of Pd2Cd3 and PdBi2 alloy phases respectively. The corrosion behavior and stability of the samples in 0.5 M sulfuric acid solution were investigated using Tafel polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods. The higher corrosion resistance of Pd(1) and Pd(2) samples compared to the Pd Cd and Pd Bi samples was observed. Besides, the electrodeposited samples were considered as the anode electro-catalysts for formic acid oxidation in 0.5 M sulfuric acid solution using cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and chronoamperometry methods. The effect of potential scan rate, sulfuric acid, and formic acid concentrations was examined for the formic acid oxidation on the prepared catalysts. Based on the obtained results, the Pd Cd sample showed higher catalytic activity for formic acid oxidation compared to the other samples.