There are some predefined formats in date_d.php to use with format like:
define ('DATE_ATOM', "Y-m-d\TH:i:sP");
define ('DATE_COOKIE', "l, d-M-y H:i:s T");
define ('DATE_ISO8601', "Y-m-d\TH:i:sO");
define ('DATE_RFC822', "D, d M y H:i:s O");
define ('DATE_RFC850', "l, d-M-y H:i:s T");
define ('DATE_RFC1036', "D, d M y H:i:s O");
define ('DATE_RFC1123', "D, d M Y H:i:s O");
define ('DATE_RFC2822', "D, d M Y H:i:s O");
define ('DATE_RFC3339', "Y-m-d\TH:i:sP");
define ('DATE_RSS', "D, d M Y H:i:s O");
define ('DATE_W3C', "Y-m-d\TH:i:sP");
Use like this:
$date = new \DateTime();
$string = $date->format(DATE_RFC2822);