N-doped hollow carbon nanospheres embedded in N-doped graphene loaded with palladium nanoparticles as an efficient electrocatalyst for formic acid oxidation

• A novel Pd/NHCN@NG catalyst with a 3D porous structure was synthesized via a simple and economical method. • The catalyst exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity and high steady-state current density for formic acid oxidation. • The Pd/NHCN@NG catalyst shows strong resistance to CO poisoning, outperforming conventional Pd/C, Pd/NG, and Pd/NHCN catalysts. • Optimizing the HCN/GO mass ratio to 1:1 yields an activity 4.21 times that of Pd/C, demonstrating the potential for fuel cell applications.