On the Utilization of Boron Doped Diamond Electrode as a Sensor for Parathion and as an Anode for Electrochemical Combustion Of Parathion

This work proposes the utilization of a boron doped diamond (BDD) electrode as a sensor for pesticides and as well as an anode for electrochemical combustion of Parathion in spiked, pure and natural waters. The square‐wave voltammetry was selected as the electroanalytical technique and the Britton–Robinson buffer as the electrolyte. The electrochemical reduction responses of Parathion were analyzed and compared with those previously obtained using a hanging mercury electrode (HMDE). The detection and quantification limits were calculated from the analytical curves both for BDD and HMDE in Milli‐Q water (2.4 and 7.9 μg L^?1 and 3.9 and 12.8 μg L^?1 respectively) showing only a slight improvement when used BDD. However, if the application involves polluted natural waters the improvement is accentuated due to the very low adsorption characteristics of BDD, which prevent the fouling of electrode surface by organic pollutants. The BDD was also used as anode for electrochemical remediation of Parathion contamination. In this case, electrolysis was carried out in high positive potential (3.0 V) and lead the electrochemical combustion of Parathion to CO₂ and H₂O, as measured by the diminishing of total organic carbon in the electrolyte.     

High‐Yield Electrochemical Production of Formaldehyde from CO2 and Seawater

The catalytic, electrocatalytic, or photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ into useful chemicals in high yield for industrial applications has so far proven difficult. Herein, we present our work on the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ in seawater using a boron‐doped diamond (BDD) electrode under ambient conditions to produce formaldehyde. This method overcomes the usual limitation of the low yield of higher‐order products, and also reduces the generation of H₂. In comparison with other electrode materials, BDD electrodes have a wide potential window and high electrochemical stability, and, moreover, exhibit very high Faradaic efficiency (74 %) for the production of formaldehyde, using either methanol, aqueous NaCl, or seawater as the electrolyte. The high Faradaic efficiency is attributed to the sp³‐bonded carbon of the BDD. Our results have wide ranging implications for the efficient and cost‐effective conversion of CO₂.     

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 with high current density in a CO2 + methanol medium II. CO formation promoted by tetrabutylammonium cation

The cation of the supporting electrolyte was found to play an important role in the electrochemical reduction of highly concentrated CO₂ in a CO₂ + methanol medium. Electroreduction of CO₂ with tetrabutylammonium (TBA) salts yielded CO as the main product, while methyl formate was predominantly formed when lithium salts were used as supporting electrolytes. The latter supporting electrolytes showed a higher overvoltage than the former. When TBA salt was used, the reduction of CO₂ was catalysed by TBA ion to yield CO^−.₂. This intermediate may be stabilized by forming an ion pair, {TBA⁺---CO^−.₂}, or by being adsorbed on the electrode surface as CO^−._2ad. Then CO^−.₂ reacts with CO₂ to produce CO. The hydrophobic atmosphere at the electrode provided by TBA ion may be adequate for CO production. Lithium ion, on the other hand, suppressed the reduction of CO₂.     

Opportunities and challenges of thin-film boron-doped diamond electrochemistry for valuable resources recovery from waste: Organic,inorganic, and volatile product electrosynthesis

Thin-film boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrochemistry has made a tremendous progress in electrochemical synthesis/recovery of high-added value products from aqueous and gaseous waste streams. The distinguished electrochemical characteristic of this electrode has made this material emerging and successfully used in electrosynthetic transformations, besides its destructive and powerful performance in disinfection and detoxification of wastewaters. Organic electrosynthesis is achieved by the oxyl radical oxidation formed at BDD, peroxo compounds electrosynthesis is attained by oxidation of corresponding anions at the BDD surface, whereas electrochemical conversion of SO₂, CO₂, NO₃^?, and NH₃ to value-added products occurs by BDD cathodic reduction process. There are still some challenges needed to address for seamless scale-up and translation into application of this future technology.     

Photoelectrochemical CO2 Reduction with a Rhenium Organometallic Redox Mediator at Semiconductor/Aqueous Liquid Junction Interfaces

Electrochemical and photoelectrochemical CO₂ reductions were carried out with Re(bh‐bipy)(CO)₃(OH₂) cocatalysts in aqueous electrolytes. Competition between hydrogen evolution and CO₂ reduction was observed under (photo)electrochemical conditions for both glassy carbon and CuInS₂ electrodes. The partial current density for CO generation is limited even though the additional potential is applied. However, electrochemical hydrogen evolution was suppressed under photoelectrochemical conditions, and the selectivity and partial current density for CO were considerably increased when compared to the electrochemical reduction in an identical electrode/electrolyte system. This finding may provide insights into using semiconductor/liquid junctions for solar fuel devices to overcome the limitations of electrolysis systems with an external bias.     

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide with lead cathode and zinc anode in dry acetonitrile solution

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is investigated in acetonitrile with tetrabutylammonium perchlorate as an electrolyte using a lead cathode and a sacrificial zinc anode, and the product under such a setup is insoluble zinc oxalate at potentials between ?2.2 and ?2.8 V vs. Ag rod electrode. Preelectrolysis is an effective method to remove the water in the electrolyte, which makes a distinct reduction peak of CO₂ appear at ?2.6 V vs. Ag on cyclic voltammogram. Even trace amounts of water in the electrolyte can interfere with the faradaic efficiency of reduction of CO₂ to oxalate, and the product could be β-ZnC₂O₄ (in anhydrous solution) or ZnC₂O₄?·?2H₂O (if water exists). The faradaic efficiency for oxalate production also depends on the cathode potential and the temperature, and the maximum is 96.8 % at ?2.6 V vs. Ag and 5 °C. This is the highest value of CO₂ electrochemical reduction found in the literature under ambient pressure.     

Electrooxidation Mechanism of Methanol at Pt-Ru Catalyst Modified GC Electrode in Electrolytes with Different pH Using Electrochemical and SERS Techniques

The electrochemical and in-situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy （SERS） techniques were used to investigate the electrooxidation behavior of methanol in acidic, neutral and alkaline media at a Pt-Ru nanoparticle modified glassy carbon （Pt-Ru/GC） electrode. The results showed that methanol could be dissociated spontaneously at the Pt-Ru/GC electrode to produce a strongly adsorbed intermediate, CO. It was found that CO could be oxidized more easily in the alkaline medium than in the acidic and neutral media. The peak potential of methanol oxidation was shifted from 0.663 and 0.708 V in the acidic and neutral media to -0.030 V in the alkaline medium, which is due to that the adsorption strength of CO on the Pt surface in the alkaline medium is weaker than that in the acidic and neutral media. The final product of the methanol oxidation is CO2. However, in the alkaline medium, CO2 produced would form CO3^2- and HCO3^- resulting in the decrease in the alkaline concentration and then in the decrease in the performance of DMFC. Therefore, the performance of the alkaline DMFC is not Stable.     

Evidence for diffusional coupling in electrochemical thin layers: implications for surface coverage calibration via electrochemical infrared spectroscopy

The time dependence of the concentration of CO₂ in an electrochemical thin layer cavity is studied with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in order to evaluate the extent to which the thin layer cavity is diffusionally decoupled from the surrounding bulk electrolyte. For the model system of CO on Pt(111) in 0.1 M HClO₄, it is found that the concentration of CO₂, formed by electro-oxidation of CO, equilibrates rapidly with the surrounding bulk electrolyte. This rapid equilibration indicates that there is diffusion out of the thin layer, even on the short time scales of typical infrared experiments (1–3 min). However, since the measured CO₂ absorbance intensity as a function of time is reproducible to within 10%, a new time-dependent method for surface coverage calibration using solution-phase species is proposed. Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Teresa Iwasita on the occasion of her 65th birthday in recognition of her numerous contributions to interfacial electrochemistry.     

Electrochemical Detection of Catechol on Boron‐doped Diamond Electrode Modified with Au/TiO2 Nanorod Composite

Au/TiO₂ nanorod composites with different ratios of [TiO₂]:[Au] have been prepared by chemically reducing AuCl₄^‐ on the positively charged TiO₂ nanorods surface and used to modify boron‐doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. The electrochemical behaviors of catechol on the bare and different Au/TiO₂ nanorod composites‐modified BDD electrodes are studied. The cyclic voltammetric results indicate that these different Au/TiO₂ nanorod composites‐modified BDD electrodes can enhance the electrocatalytic activity toward catechol detection, as compared with the bare BDD electrode. Among these different conditions, the Au/TiO₂‐BDD3 electrode (the ratio of [TiO₂]:[Au] is 27:1) is the most choice for catechol detection. The electrochemical response dependences of the Au/TiO₂‐BDD3 electrode on pH of solution and the applied potential are studied. The detection limit of catechol is found to be about 1.4 × 10^‐6 M in a linear range from 5 × 10^‐6 M to 200 × 10^‐6 M on the Au/TiO₂‐BDD3 electrode.     

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO using graphene oxide/carbon nanotube electrode in ionic liquid/acetonitrile system

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to CO is an interesting topic. In this work, we prepared metal-free electrodes by depositing graphene oxide (GO), multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), and GO/MWCNT composites on carbon paper (CP) using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method. The electrodes were characterized by different methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to CO was conducted on the electrodes in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim]BF₄)/acetonitrile (MeCN) electrolyte, and the composition of the electrolyte influenced the reaction significantly. It was demonstrated that GO/MWCNT-CP electrode was very effective for the reaction in IL (90 wt%)/MeCN binary mixture, the Faradaic efficiency of CO and current density were even higher than those on Au and Ag electrodes in the same electrolyte.     

Hydroxide Is Not a Promoter of C2+ Product Formation in the Electrochemical Reduction of CO on Copper

Highly alkaline electrolytes have been shown to improve the formation rate of C₂₊ products in the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) on copper surfaces, with the assumption that higher OH^? concentrations promote the C?C coupling chemistry. Herein, by systematically varying the concentration of Na⁺ and OH^? at the same absolute electrode potential, we demonstrate that higher concentrations of cations (Na⁺), rather than OH^?, exert the main promotional effect on the production of C₂₊ products. The impact of the nature and the concentration of cations on the electrochemical reduction of CO is supported by experiments in which a fraction or all of Na⁺ is chelated by a crown ether. Chelation of Na⁺ leads to drastic decrease in the formation rate of C₂₊ products. The promotional effect of OH^? determined at the same potential on the reversible hydrogen electrode scale is likely caused by larger overpotentials at higher electrolyte pH.     

Electrochemical carbon dioxide and bicarbonate reduction on copper in weakly alkaline media

The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ on copper is an intensively studied reaction. However, there has not been much attention for CO₂ reduction on copper in alkaline electrolytes, because this creates a carbonate buffer in which CO₂ is converted in HCO₃ ^? and the pH of the electrolyte decreases. Here, we show that electrolytes with phosphate buffers, which start off in the alkaline region and, after saturation with CO₂, end up in the neutral region, behave differently compared to CO₂ reduction in phosphate buffers which starts off in the neutral region. In initially alkaline buffers, a reduction peak is observed, which is not seen in neutral buffer solutions. In contrast with earlier literature reports, we show that this peak is not due to the formation of a CO adlayer on the electrode surface but due to the production of formate via direct bicarbonate reduction. The intensity of the reduction peak is influenced by electrode morphology and the identity of the cations and anions in solution. It is found that a copper nanoparticle-covered electrode gives a rise in intensity in comparison with mechanically polished and electropolished electrodes. The peak is observed in the SO₄ ^2?-, ClO₄ ^?-, and Cl^?- containing electrolytes, but the formate-forming peak is not seen with Br^? and I^?.     

Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance analysis of the cathodic process in a lithium-ion battery

The surface processes at carbon and platinum electrodes have been studied using the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance technique in organic electrolyte solutions for lithium ion batteries. The changes in resonance frequency were analyzed as a function of the electrode potential, indicating that the process depended not only on the electrode material but also on the cathode potential. In the solution containing LiBF₄ as the electrolyte, the main product at the platinum surface was Li₂CO₃ and LiF, whereas formation of lithium alkylcarbonates was the primary process at the platinum and carbon electrodes in LiPF₆ solution.     

Electrolyte Effects on the Electrochemical Reduction of CO2

The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to fuels or commodity chemicals is a reaction of high interest for closing the anthropogenic carbon cycle. The role of the electrolyte is of particular interest, as the interplay between the electrocatalytic surface and the electrolyte plays an important role in determining the outcome of the CO₂ reduction reaction. Therefore, insights on electrolyte effects on the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ are pivotal in designing electrochemical devices that are able to efficiently and selectively convert CO₂ into valuable products. Here, we provide an overview of recently obtained insights on electrolyte effects and we discuss how these insights can be used as design parameters for the construction of new electrocatalytic systems.     

Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Nanoporous Au/CoO Core–Shell Material with Synergistic Catalysis

An ultrathin CoO layer is deposited on the skeleton surfaces of a nanoporous gold (NPG) film by using atomic layer deposition, creating a flexible electrode. Detailed characterization demonstrates the superior performance of the flexible NPG/CoO hybrids for electrochemical catalysis. The NPG/CoO hybrid not only achieves high catalytic activity for glucose oxidation and H₂O₂ reduction, but also exhibits a linear dependence of the electrical signal on the concentration of glucose and H₂O₂ molecules in the electrolyte. Meanwhile, the sensitivity for H₂O₂ reduction can be as high as 62.5 μA mm ^?1 cm^?2 with linear dependence on the concentration in the range of 0.1–92.9 mm . The high sensitivity is proposed to result from the synergistic effect of Au and CoO at the interfaces, and the high conductivity of the gold skeleton with a large surface area. The superior electrochemical performance of this hybrid electrode is promising for future potential applications in various transitional‐metal‐oxide‐based electrochemical electrodes.     

Tailoring Copper Nanocrystals towards C2 Products in Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

Favoring the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO2RR) over the hydrogen evolution reaction and controlling the selectivity towards multicarbon products are currently major scientific challenges in sustainable energy research. It is known that the morphology of the catalyst can modulate catalytic activity and selectivity, yet this remains a relatively underexplored area in electrochemical CO₂ reduction. Here, we exploit the material tunability afforded by colloidal chemistry to establish unambiguous structure/property relations between Cu nanocrystals and their behavior as electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction. Our study reveals a non‐monotonic size‐dependence of the selectivity in cube‐shaped copper nanocrystals. Among 24 nm, 44 nm and 63 nm cubes tested, the cubes with 44 nm edge length exhibited the highest selectivity towards CO2RR (80 %) and faradaic efficiency for ethylene (41 %). Statistical analysis of the surface atom density suggests the key role played by edge sites in CO2RR.     

Electrode Potentials of Cells with an Electrolyte Based on Zirconium Dioxide in Gas Mixtures N2+ O2+ CO2+ CO: A Platinum Electrode

Steady-state potentials of various platinum electrodes are measured in cells containing electrolyte ZrO₂+ Y₂O₃(10 mol %) in the temperature range 673–773 K in binary equilibrium gas mixtures N₂+ O₂and CO + CO₂, as well as in four-component nonequilibrium gas mixtures N₂+ O₂+ CO₂+ CO containing 0–3 vol % CO and 0–10 vol % O₂. Adding CO to a gas mixture makes the electrode potential deviate from equilibrium, which is explained by chemisorption of CO on the electrode. The oxygen, which is adsorbed on platinum, interacts with CO; as a result, CO₂undergoes desorption and the surface concentration of CO drops.     

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide on copper in methanol with various potassium supporting electrolytes at low temperature

The electrochemical reduction of CO₂ at a Cu electrode was investigated in a methanol-based electrolyte using such potassium supporting salts as CH₃COOK, KBr, KI and KSCN at extremely low temperature (−30 °C). The main products obtained from CO₂ by the electrochemical reduction were methane, ethylene, ethane, carbon monoxide and formic acid. The maximum Faradaic efficiency of ethylene was 19.9% in KI/methanol-based catholyte at −3.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl saturated KCl. The best methane formation (27.0%) was obtained in CH₃COOK/methanol electrolyte at −3.0 V. In the system containing a potassium halide, the efficiency of hydrogen formation, being a competitive reaction against CO₂ reduction, was suppressed to less than 8.1%. The product selectivity of the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ in methanol was greatly affected by the anionic species. This research can contribute to the large-scale manufacturing of useful organic products from readily available and cheap raw materials: CO₂-saturated methanol from industrial absorbers (the Rectisol process). Received: 11 November 1998 / Accepted: 1 February 1999     

Preconcentration and voltammetric determination of palladium (II) at sodium humate modified carbon paste electrodes

A chemically modified carbon paste electrode was prepared by incorporating appropriate amounts of sodium humate(NaA). Palladium(II) was selectively accumulated in a solution of Britton-Robinson(B-R) buffer (pH 2.8) onto the electrode surface in open circuit mode. The subsequent electrochemical measurement was carried out by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep anodic stripping voltammetry (LSASV) in a supporting electrolyte of 1.0 M HCl. The obtained oxidation currents (I_pa1 and L_pa2) were proportional to the Pd(II) concentration in the range of 4.7 × 10^–6 - 9.4 × 10^–8 M. The developed method was applied to the quantitative determination of palladium in real samples.     

Comparing interfacial cation hydration at catalytic active sites and spectator sites on gold electrodes: understanding structure sensitive CO2 reduction kinetics

Hydrated cations present in the electrochemical double layer (EDL) are known to play a crucial role in electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction (CO₂R), and numerous studies have attempted to explain how the cation effect contributes to the complex CO₂R mechanism. CO₂R is a structure sensitive reaction, indicating that a small fraction of total surface sites may account for the majority of catalytic turnover. Despite intense interest in specific cation effects, probing site-specific, cation-dependent solvation structures remains a significant challenge. In this work, CO adsorbed on Au is used as a vibrational Stark reporter to indirectly probe solvation structure using vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy. Two modes corresponding to atop adsorption of CO are observed with unique frequency shifts and potential-dependent intensity profiles, corresponding to direct adsorption of CO to inactive surface sites, and in situ generated CO produced at catalytic active sites. Analysis of the cation-dependent Stark tuning slopes for each of these species provides estimates of the hydrated cation radius upon adsorption to active and inactive sites on the Au electrode. While cations are found to retain their bulk hydration shell upon adsorption at inactive sites, catalytic active sites are characterized by a single layer of water between the Au surface and the electrolyte cation. We propose that the drastic increase in catalytic performance at active sites stems from this unique solvation structure at the Au/electrolyte interface. Building on this evidence of a site-specific EDL structure will be critical to understand the connection between cation-dependent interfacial solvation and CO₂R performance.

Site-specific vibrational probes were used to elucidate the interfacial solvation structure between catalytic active sites and inactive sites on a Au electrode to reveal a unique, opposing cation-dependent double layer structure at active sites.