1 Towards Improving the Catalytic Activity and Stability of Platinum-based Anodes in Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells Ahmad M. Mohammad 1,2,* , Gumaa A. El-Nagar 1 , Islam M. Al-Akraa 2 , Mohamed S. El-Deab 1,2 , Bahgat E. El-Anadouli 1 1 Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, the British University in Egypt, Cairo 11837, Egypt E-mail addresses: ammohammad@cu.edu.eg (A. Mohammad), elnagar087@yahoo.com (G. El-Nagar), islam0886@yahoo.com (I. Al-Akraa), msaada68@yahoo.com (M. El-Deab), bahgat30@yahoo.com (B. El-Anadouli). Abstract The rapid depletion and the risky environmental impact of traditional fossil fuels have alerted a global attention to secure efficient and safe replacements for next generations. In this regard, fuel cells appeared promising in terms of efficiency, reliability, safety, moving flexibility and providing electricity for portable applications. The direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs), in particular, have shown superiority in this context due to the high efficiency and easiness of storing and transporting a liquid fuel (formic acid (FA)). Nevertheless, the catalytic efficiency of DFAFCs deteriorates gradually as a consequence of the severe poisoning of the platinum catalyst, the typical anodic material for formic acid electro-oxidation (FAO), with carbon monoxide (CO) produced from the non-faradaic dehydration of FA. The current investigation concerns with making some modifications for the Pt catalyst to resist or, fortunately, prevent the adsorption of the poisoning CO and/or to facilitate its oxidative removal early at low potential during FAO. One of the interesting modifications was made with Pt nanoparticles (PtNPs), Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) and nickel oxide nanoparticles (nano-NiO x ), all were sequentially electrodeposited onto the surface of a glassy carbon (GC) electrode. The deposition sequence of the catalyst ingredients (PtNPs, AuNPs, and nano-NiO x ) was adjusted to optimize the electrocatalytic activity and stability of the electrode. Interestingly, the highest catalytic activity (least poisoning) and stability towards FAO was obtained when PtNPs was directly deposited on the GC electrode. The discussion is oriented to adopt the role of the ternary catalyst ingredients in the catalytic enhancement. Keywords: Electrocatalysis; Gold nanoparticles; Platinum nanoparticles; Nickel oxide nanoparticles; Direct formic acid fuel cells; Third body.