The direct formic acid fuel cell is an emerging energy conversion device for which palladium is considered as the state-of-the-art anode catalyst. In their communication, researchers from the CIAC show that the activity and stability of palladium for formic acid oxidation can be significantly enhanced using nickel phosphide (Ni2P) nanoparticles as a cocatalyst. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveals a strong electronic interaction between Ni2P and Pd. A direct formic acid fuel cell incorporating the best Pd–Ni2P anode catalyst exhibits a power density of 550 mWcm[1]2, which is 3.5 times of that of an analogous device using a commercial Pd anode catalyst.

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ANGEW CHEM INT EDIT. 2014, 53(1): 122-126. Doi:10.1002/anie.201308620 [SCI.Wiley]