Application of oxide electrodes activated in organic eletrooxidation: oxidation of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and oxalic acid

Author(s)

Juliane Cristina Forti

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Ribeirão Preto.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC)
• Defense date: 2005-03-10

Examining board members

Adalgisa Rodrigues de Andrade; Antonio Carlos Dias Angelo; Marcos Roberto de Vasconcelos Lanza; Paulo Olivi; Maria Valnice Boldrin Zanoni

• Advisor: Adalgisa Rodrigues de Andrade

Abstract

This work presents the preparation and characterization of dimensionally stable anodes (DSA) of nominal composition Ti/Ru0.3Ti0.7O2, modified by the addition of metals to their surface. The introduction of the modulator metal allowed us to change the coating of the electrochemical behavior in a significant way. The DSAâ surface was modified by electrodeposition of Pt and PbO2, and chemical deposition of highly nanodispersive supported catalysts (Pt and Pt-Ni). The objective of this preparation was to modulate the anode properties in order to enhance the electrocatalytic properties and mechanical resistance of these materials. This new class of materials was applied in the electrooxidadtion of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and oxalic acid. The electrode characterization was carried out by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), long-term electrolysis followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) which was performed at the University of Poitiers, France. The micrographs and EDS analyses showed that the ruthenium is concentrated in small ?islands? in the oxide layer, and the modification with platinum, either electrodeposited or chemically deposited, occurs preferable over the ruthenium-rich regions. The PbO2 electrodeposit was more uniformly distributed along the oxide layer. Bulk electrolysis experiments were carried out applying a potentiostatic program. The efficiency toward the formation of the more oxidized compound (CO2) is related with the amount and distribution of the platinum deposited on the DSAâ surface. The most efficient materials were: Ti/ADE modified with electrodeposited Pt (100 ?g cm-2) and Ti/ADE modified with chemically deposited Pt-Ni (1:1) (60 ?g cm-2). Through the DEMS experiments these results were confirmed. The DSAâ modified with PbO2 (100 ?g cm-2) was more efficient than the bare DSAâ. However, the amount of CO2 obtained with the former electrode is still lower than that obtained with the platinum-modified ones. The role of DSAâ on the direct activation of the oxidation of small organic molecules was studied applying an electrode containing the platinum directly electrodeposited over the titanium. The bulk electrolysis results showed that DSAâ is not just an inert substrate since it does play an important role in the overall efficiency of these materials. (AU)