Engineering PdCuBP quaternary alloy mesoporous nanospheres for efficient formic acid electrooxidation

Controlling the compositional makeup and engineering the structural morphology of nanomaterials have emerged as pivotal strategies for enhancing catalyst performance. Herein, leveraging the dual benefits of multi-component alloying and special morphology control, we co-alloy Pd with non-noble (Cu), metalloid (B) and non-metal (P) to synthesize PdCuBP quaternary alloy mesoporous nanospheres featuring a unique porous structure through the application of a soft-templating synthetic strategy. The electrocatalytic performance of the resulting catalyst is evaluated for the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). The results show that the PdCuBP MSs exhibit a remarkable mass activity of 2773.44 mA mg⁻¹ _Pd, representing a 5.24-fold enhancement compared to conventional Pd/C catalysts. After 500 cycles of CV testing, the PdCuBP MSs maintain 36.81 times higher current density retention than Pd/C, demonstrating exceptional durability. The superior performance originates from the well-defined mesoporous nanosphere structure, offering a high density of accessible active sites. Simultaneously, the electronic interaction between Pd, Cu, B, and P optimizes the Pd electronic environment, leading to remarkable enhancement in catalytic oxidation performance of formic acid. Furthermore, the influence of catalyst morphology on performance is investigated by synthesizing and comparing three distinct PdCuBP nanostructures: tripods, nanosheets, and mesoporous nanospheres. The experimental results confirm that the PdCuBP mesoporous nanospheres exhibit superior electrocatalytic performance for formic acid oxidation compared to the other morphologies. In summary, the successful integration of compositional merits and sophisticated structural engineering in this work establishes a new paradigm for developing high-performance electrocatalysts with exceptional activity and long-term stability.