Pronounced effect of yttrium oxide on the activity of Pd/rGO electrocatalyst for formic acid oxidation reaction

A highly efficient and stable electrocatalyst comprised of yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃) and palladium nanoparticles has been synthesized via a sodium borohydride reduction approach. The molar ratio of Pd and Y was varied to fabricate various electrocatalysts and the oxidation reaction of formic acid was checked. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) are used to characterize the synthesized catalysts. Among the synthesized catalysts (PdY/rGO), the optimized catalyst i.e., Pd₆Y₄/rGO exhibits the highest current density (106 mA cm^-2) and lowest onset potential compared to Pd/rGO (28.1 mA cm^-2) and benchmark Pd/C (21.7 mA cm^-2). The addition of Y₂O₃ to the rGO surface results in electrochemically active sites due to the improved geometric structure and bifunctional components. The electrochemically active surface area 119.4 m² g^-1 is calculated for Pd₆Y₄/rGO, which is ∼1.108, ∼1.24, ∼1.47 and 1.55 times larger than Pd₄Y₆/rGO, Pd₂Y₈/rGO, Pd/C and Pd/rGO, respectively. The redesigned Pd structures on Y₂O₃-promoted rGO give exceptional stability and enhanced resistance to CO poisoning. The outstanding electrocatalytic performance of the Pd₆Y₄/rGO electrocatalyst is ascribed to uniform dispersion of small size palladium nanoparticles which is possibly due to the presence of yttrium oxide.