Formic acid adsorption anodic oxidation

A major focus of more recent studies on adsorption at metal electrodes has been the investigation of the mechanism of electro-oxidation of organic fuels (methanol, formic acid, formaldehyde, etc. [55, 56]) and the electro-reduction of carbon dioxide. The former type of reaction is important in the context of the development of fuel cells a major problem has been the poisoning of the anode by carbon fragments and mechanistic insights are urgently needed. In the latter case, the development of C02 sensors has a high priority. 

The method of catalyst preparation (especially in the case of alloys) and the catalyst interaction with the polymer support matrix play important roles in determining the resultant electrocatalytic effect. The catalyst/support couple PtSn/PAni (0.5 pm thickness) with PtSn synthesized by electroreduction at 0.1 V vs. RHE was found to be an effective catalytic system for formic acid oxidation, lowering the anode potential by over 100 mV compared to pure Pt/PAni and PtRu/PAni [324]. Moreover, the oxidation of formic acid on PtSn/PAni commences at low potentials, in the hydrogen adsorption region, around 0.1-0.2 V vs. RHE. 

Breiter, M.W. Anodic oxidation of formic acid on platinum. I. Adsorption of formic acid, oxygen and hydrogen in perchloric acid solutions. Electmchim. Acta 1963, 8, 447-456 and 457-470. 

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