Oxidation of formic acid on the Pt(111) surface in the gas phase

Formic acid (HCOOH) oxidation on Pt(111) under gas-phase conditions is a benchmark heterogeneous catalysis reaction used to probe electro-catalytic HCOOH conversion in fuel cells, itself an important reaction in energy conversion. We used density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate the fundamental oxidation mechanisms of HCOOH in the gas phase, determining the relative strengths of chemical interactions between HCOOH oxidation intermediates and the Pt(111) surface. We focused on investigating how water and adsorption coverage affects reaction intermediate structures and transition states. Our results show that adsorbed HCOO is a reactive intermediate in gas phase, and co-adsorbed water plays a key role in HCOOH oxidation influencing the structure of reaction intermediates and reaction barriers on Pt(111). The simulations show the preferred catalytic pathway is qualitatively dependent on surface coverage. These results provide a conceptual basis to better interpret its complicated experimental reaction kinetics.