Enhanced formic acid electro-oxidation reaction on ternary Pd-Ir-Cu/C catalyst

•Highly dispersed ternary PdIrCu/C nanocatalyst was synthesized.•PdIrCu/C exhibits the highest catalytic activity for FAEO.•The utilization of precious metal is markedly promoted.•Additive components result in the downshift of Pd d-band center.•Ir is good for removing adsorbed CO intermediates at lower potential. Aim to further reduce the cost of Pd-Ir for formic acid electro-oxidation (FAEO), the Cu was used to construct a ternary metallic alloy catalyst. The prepared catalysts are characterized using XRD, TGA, EDX, TEM, XPS, CO-stripping, cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. It is found that the Pd18Ir1Cu6 nanoparticles with a mean size of 3.3nm are highly dispersed on carbon support. Componential distributions on catalyst are consistent with initial contents. Electrochemical measurements show that the PdIrCu/C catalyst exhibits the highest activity for FAEO. The mass activity of Pd in Pd18Ir1Cu6/C at 0.16V (vs. SCE) is about 1.47, 1.62 and 2.08 times as high as that of Pd18Cu6/C, Pd18Ir1/C and Pd/C, respectively. The activity enhancement of PdIrCu/C should be attributed to the weakened CO adsorption strength and the removal of adsorbed intermediates at lower potential with the addition of Cu and Ir.