Do carbon nanotubes catalyse bromine/bromide redox chemistry?

The redox chemistries of both the bromide oxidation and bromine reduction reactions are studied at single multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a function of their electrical potential allowing inference of the electron transfer kinetics of the Br₂/Br⁻ redox couple, widely used in batteries. The nanotubes are shown to be mildly catalytic compared to a glassy carbon surface but much less as inferred from conventional voltammetry on porous ensembles of MWCNTs where the mixed transport regime masks the true catalytic response.

Schematic of a carbon nanotube impact in bromide solution.

The bromine–bromide redox couple plays an essential role in diverse energy storage devices including hydrogen–bromine, zinc–bromine, quinone–bromine, vanadium–bromide and bromide–polysulphide flow batteries.^1–5 The Br₂/Br⁻ redox couple is attractive as a cathode reaction due to its high standard potential, large solubility of both reagents, high power density and cost efficiency.⁶ The performance of such devices is generically limited by the thermodynamics and kinetics of the redox couple comprising the battery with fast (‘reversible’) electron transfer is essential. In many cases, including the Br₂/Br⁻ couple the electrode reaction involves more than one electron as given in the stoichiometric reaction:2Br⁻ − 2e⁻ ⇄ Br₂; E⁰ = 1.08 V vs. SHEwith, at high bromide concentrations, the possibility of the follow up chemical reaction⁷Br₂ + Br⁻ ⇄ Br₃⁻Since electrons are usually transferred sequentially this implies that the mechanism is multistep with any of the individual mechanistic steps in principle being rate limiting. For this reason catalysts are commonly required to enhance the electrode kinetics at otherwise favourable electrode materials. One type of catalyst which has seen wide usage, including for the Br₂/Br⁻ couple^8,9 are carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with suggested advantages which include high surface area and the inherent porosity of CNT composites.¹⁰ The deployment of CNTs as a porous composite presents a further level of complexity to the electrode reaction beyond its multistep character because of the ill-defined mass transport within the porous layer. In particular ascertaining the intrinsic electron transfer kinetics and hence the level of catalysis, if any, is essentially impossible since these are masked in the voltammetric response by diffusional mass transport effects.^11–14 Specifically the transport within the porous structure of CNT layers is dominated by thin-layer and other^15,16 effects which give the illusion of electrochemical reversibility. In order to unscramble possible electro-catalysis of the bromine/bromide couple a different approach is needed.In the following we study both the electro-oxidation of bromide (BOR) and the electro-reduction of bromine (BRR) at single MWCNTs via ‘nano-impact (aka ‘single entity’) electrochemistry’^17–20 in aqueous solution. In this approach a micro-wire electrode at a fixed potential is inserted in a suspension of CNTs in the solution of interest. From time to time a single CNT impacts the electrode, adopts the potential of the latter for the duration of the impact which in the case of CNTs can vary from 1–100 of seconds^21–23 and sustained catalytic currents flow if the oxidation/reduction of interest is faster at the nanotube in comparison with the micro-wire electrode. The catalytic currents are studied as a function of potential revealing the electron transfer kinetics. Fig. 1 shows the concept of the experiment.Open in a separate windowFig. 1Schematic representation of ‘nano-impact’ electrochemistry on a carbon micro wire electrode for the oxidation of aqueous bromide from which the kinetics of the BOR are inferred. Analogous experiments but showing negative impact currents allow the inference of the kinetics of the BRR.The BOR and BRR were studied first, however, voltammetrically at an unmodified glassy carbon (GC) electrode as shown in Fig. 2 (black line) using 5.0 mM solutions of either NaBr or Br₂ in 0.1 M HNO₃. The midpoint potential was 0.82 V versus the saturated calomel electrode (SCE) consistent with the literature values for the formal potential of the Br₂/Br⁻ couple.²⁴ The voltammograms were analysed to give transfer coefficients of 0.45 ± 0.01 and 0.33 ± 0.01 (ESI, Section 2^†) for the BOR and BRR respectively. Both processes were inferred to be diffusional and the diffusion coefficients D_Br⁻ and D_Br2 were calculated to be 2.05 (±0.04) × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹ and 1.50 (±0.04) × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹ (ESI, Section 3^†) using the Randles–Ševčík equation for an irreversible reaction the values are consistent with literature reports.²⁴ Then the electrodes were modified with 30 μg of MWCNTs consisting of ca. 125 monolayers (the calculation is given in the ESI, Section 9^†) of MWCNTs assuming that they are closely packed across the area of the GC electrode, and the resulting voltammograms are shown in Fig. 2 (red line). In comparison with the unmodified electrode, enhanced currents are seen for the Br₂/Br⁻ couple which partly reflects the enhanced capacitance of the interface reflecting in turn the large surface area of the deposited nanotubes (ca. 60–120 cm²). Larger signals are also seen indicating a thin layer contribution from the material occluded within the porous layer which also leads to the apparently quasi-reversible shape of the voltammograms obtained for both reactions. A log–log plot of peak current (I_p) vs. scan rate (ν) showed a gradient value of 0.68 (±0.01) and 0.66 (±0.03) for the BOR and BRR (ESI, Section 4^†) confirming a mixed mass transport regime^12,14 with a combination of semi-infinite diffusion and thin layer behaviour. The transition from the fully irreversible to the apparent quasi-reversible character is sometimes confused with electro-catalysis attributed to the CNTs rather than thin-layer diffusion. In order to ascertain the true catalytic response, single entity electrochemistry was measured to obtain the BOR and BRR responses at single CNTs.Open in a separate windowFig. 2Cyclic voltammograms at pristine GC (black line) and 30 μg MWCNTs dropcast on GC (red line) at a scan rate of 0.05 V s⁻¹ (a) for the bromide oxidation reaction (BOR) in 5.0 mM NaBr in 0.1 M HNO₃, (b) for the bromine reduction reaction (BRR) in 5.0 mM bromine in 0.1 M HNO₃.For single entity measurements, a clean carbon wire (CWE, length 1 mm and diameter 7 μm) working electrode was used. Chronoamperograms were recorded at a constant applied potential of 0.2 V vs. SCE and 1.3 V vs. SCE for the BOR and BRR respectively (5.0 mM solutions). These values were selected in the light of Fig. 2 to provide a large overpotential for each reaction. Clear oxidative and reductive current steps were observed (Fig. 3). These were ascribed to the arrival of a MWCNT at the electrode surface and the resulting catalytic electron transfer for the duration of the impact. No steps were observed in the absence of MWCNTs (ESI, Fig. S4^†). The average residence time of the MWCNT was 1.2 (±0.5) seconds and the frequency of the collisions was 0.3 (±0.1) impacts per second. The average impact current for the BOR at 1.3 V vs. SCE was 2.8 (±0.2) nA (65 impacts) and for the BRR at 0.2 V vs. SCE it was 3.8 (±0.1) nA (70 impacts). The impact currents were assumed to be entirely faradaic since control experiments in 0.1 M HNO₃ solution in the presence of 100 μg of MWCNTs (in the absence of Br⁻ and Br₂) showed no obvious impacts as shown in ESI Section 10.^†Open in a separate windowFig. 3Chronoamperograms showing the impact step current (a) for the BOR in 5.0 mM NaBr in 0.1 M HNO₃ at 1.3 V vs. SCE, (b) for the BRR in 5.0 mM bromine in 0.1 M HNO₃ at 0.2 V vs. SCE.Further, impacts for both the BOR and BRR were observed at various potentials (ESI, Section 11^†) and analysed to obtain the average faradaic current at each potential. The average impact step current was plotted against the applied potential (Fig. 4). Two sigmoidal curves were obtained reflecting the current–potential response for either the bromide oxidation (BOR) or the bromine reduction (BRR). The curves reflect the average voltammograms (current–potential characteristics) for the Br₂/Br⁻ redox reaction at single carbon nanotubes. The shape of the two sigmoidal curves reflects the onset of electrolysis followed by a diffusion controlled plateau at high over-potentials.²⁵ Mass transport corrected Tafel analysis (Fig. 4; inset) showed the transfer coefficients β to be ca. 0.42 and α to be ca. 0.20 from the impacts for the BOR and BRR respectively (ESI, Section 6^†). The length distribution of the MWCNTs was calculated (ESI, Section 6^†) from the currents recorded at potentials corresponding to the plateau in Fig. 4 assuming that the reactions are (Fickian) diffusion controlled at the potentials used and by modelling the CNTs as cylindrical electrodes²¹ assuming a nanotube radius of 15 (±5) nm and the diffusion coefficients reported above. Chronoamperometry was also conducted for the BOR and BRR in the absence of MWCNTs at 1.3 V and 0.2 V vs. SCE respectively to confirm that no impact currents were contributed by the redox species in the electrolyte (ESI, Section 5^†). Alongside, chronoamperograms in 0.1 M HNO₃ and 100 μg show that the impact current was contributed only by the Br⁻ and Br₂ redox reaction and the results are shown in the ESI, Section 10.^†Open in a separate windowFig. 4Average step currents observed as a function of applied potential (a) for the BOR in 5.0 mM NaBr in 0.1 M HNO₃ at, (b) for the BRR in 5.0 mM Bromine in 0.1 M HNO₃; insets in both the cases show mass transport corrected Tafel analyses.The lengths were found to be 5.4 (±3.4) μm (BOR) and 5.9 (±1.3) μm (BRR) and are given in Fig. 5 (see ESI, Section 7^† for calculations). These values were compared with previously reported dark-field optical microscopy data and good agreement was observed with the literature value of 5.3 (±2.1) μm.²⁶ The observed consistency provides strong support for the choice of modelling the single entity voltammetry by analogy with that of a cylindrical electrode.Open in a separate windowFig. 5The length of MWCNTs calculated from the impact currents for the BOR (at 1.3 V vs. SCE) and BRR (at 0.2 V vs. SCE).It is evident that the single entity measurements allow a clear analysis of the catalytic behaviour of the carbon nanotubes by providing a well-defined diffusional regime conducive to the extraction of the electrode kinetics of both the bromide oxidation and the bromine reduction process. In contrast, electrodes were formed by ensembles of carbon nanotubes in the form of a porous layer where the mixed transport regime is not amenable to ready modelling and the dissection of thin-layer effects from the measured voltammetry. The electron transfer kinetics for both the BOR and BRR at single MWCNTs was then obtained via full simulation of the two single entity ‘voltammograms’ using the above measured diffusion coefficients and again treating the impacted MWCNT as a cylindrical electrode with uniform diffusional access and further assuming Butler–Volmer kinetics. For the BOR, one electron transfer was considered as given below,For the BRR the two electron transfer was modelled as,Br₂ + 2e⁻ → 2Br⁻The set of parameters used for the analysis are given in the ESI, Section 8.^† By using the transfer coefficients deduced from Fig. 4, the only unknown is the standard electrochemical rate constant k which is determined by fitting the impact voltammogram measured relative to a formal potential for the Br₂/Br⁻ couple of 0.82 V vs. SCE obtained from the voltammogram at pristine GC. Fig. 6 shows the fitting for the BOR and the BRR with rate constants k_BOR of 1.0 (±0.1) × 10⁻³ cm s⁻¹ and k_BRR of 5.0 (±0.1) × 10⁻⁴ cm s⁻¹ respectively. The transfer coefficients and rate constants obtained from impacts were compared to the voltammograms obtained at pristine GC for the BOR and BRR and are given in Open in a separate windowFig. 6DIGISIM simulated curves (black line) for average impact currents obtained at different potentials (red circles) (a) for the BOR with a rate constant (k_BOR) of 1.0 (±0.1) × 10⁻³ cm s⁻¹; (b) BRR with a k_BRR of 5.0 (±0.1) × 10⁻⁴ cm s⁻¹.Transfer coefficients and rate constants for the BOR in 5.0 mM NaBr in 0.1 M HNO₃ and the BRR in 5.0 mM bromine in 0.1 M HNO₃ obtained at the glassy carbon macroelectrode GC, and single MWCNT impact current

Dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide–disodium dodecanephosphonate mixed micelles

 The aqueous catanionic system dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB)–disodiumdodecanephosphonate (DSDP) was studied by potentiometry, conductivity, surface tension, spectrometry and dye solubilization. No precipitation of neutral salts was found in the entire range of compositions studied. Up to four transitions were detected. The first transition, at about 0.001 mol dm⁻³, was probably related to a state change in the adsorption monolayer at the air/water interface. The second, at about 0.0065 mol dm⁻³, was probably related to the formation of ion pairs. The third transition was the critical micelle concentration which was analyzed with the pseudophase separation model and regular solution theory. The interaction between DTAB and DSDP molecules in micelles was weaker than in other cationic–anionic surfactant mixed micelles. Large, probably rodlike, micelles formed at the fourth transition at higher surfactant concentration. No vesicles or lamellar liquid crystals were detected. The adsorbed monolayer at the air/water interface was also studied by means of regular solution theory. It was much richer in DTAB than the micelles and the intermicellar solution. The interaction between DTAB and DSDP molecules at the air/water interface was very low. The results were explained on the basis of steric factors. Received: 6 January 1999 Accepted in revised form: 13 April 1999     

Electrochemical properties of the system of Ag—1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide low-temperature ionic liquid—silver bromide

The methods of potentiometry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and gravimetry were used to study the electrochemical behavior of a silver electrode in low-temperature ionic liquids of BMImBr and BMImBr—AgBr, and also the process of cathodic reduction of Ag(I) compounds out of a BMImBr—AgBr melt. It is shown that an AgBr film is formed on the silver surface and its properties are determined by the ionic liquid composition. It is found that the process of silver electrodeposition from a BMImBr—AgBr binary alloy occurs irreversibly, at a high current efficiency (up to 100%) and a good quality of the deposit at low current densities. At 70°C, the transfer coefficients of the cathodic process (α = 0.56 and 0.16) and diffusion coefficients (D _Ag(I) = 0.48 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/s and 3.3 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/s) of silver-containing ions are determined in ionic liquids with the AgBr concentration of 0.81 and 1.53 mol/kg BMImBr, accordingly.     

Copper (II) chloride / tetrabutylammonium bromide catalyzed oxidation of 2,6-diisopropylnaphthalene and 4,4′-diisopropylbiphenyl

The oxidation processes of 2,6-diisopropylnaphthalene and 4,4′-diisopropylbiphenyl with oxygen in the presence of a catalyst, composed of copper(II) chloride and tetrabutylammonium bromide, were investigated. It was found that, in essence, only one isopropyl group undergoes oxidation, and obtained mixtures contained mainly peroxide, alcohol, ketone and only small amounts of hydroperoxide.      

Indium(III) bromide catalyzed direct azidation of α-hydroxyketones using TMSN3

The direct catalytic azidation of 2-hydroxy-1,2,2-triarylethanones occurs at room temperature using 2 mol % of InBr₃ as Lewis acid and TMSN₃ as soluble azide source. 2-Azido-1,2,2-triarylethanones have been isolated in excellent yields. The role of aryl group and stereoelectronic factors indicate that the mechanism may involve the formation of a stable carbenium ion towards azidation.     

Generation of 4-substituted coumarins via C–H bond activation under palladium bromide–copper(I) bromide cooperative catalysis

A palladium bromide and copper(I) bromide co-catalyzed reaction of 4-tosyloxy coumarin with benzo[d]oxazole/oxazole/benzo[d]thiazole via C–H activation is described, which generates 4-substituted coumarins in moderate to good yields. 4-Tosyloxy quinolin-2(1H)-one and 2H-pyran-2-one could be applied in this transformation as well.     

Facile one-pot synthesis of α-bromoketones from olefins using bromide/bromate couple as a nonhazardous brominating agent

A new method for the preparation of α-bromoketones from olefins using bromide/bromate couple as a nonhazardous brominating agent has been developed. Several α-bromoketones were successfully prepared from a variety of olefins by this method. This procedure is an alternative to conventional molecular bromine.     

Zinc-mediated highly α-regioselective prenylation of imines with prenyl bromide

A highly α-regioselective prenylation of imines has been successfully developed. The efficiency of this approach is confirmed by a wide range of imines including N- and C-aryl aldimines, N-alkyl aldimines, C-alkyl aldimines, and N- and C-aryl ketimines. The approach uses prenyl bromide as the prenyl source and inexpensive and convenient zinc as the mediator as well as environmentally benign 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) as the solvent.     

Cyclization of β-d-arabinofuranose 1,2-methyl)orthobenzoate using magnesium bromide

Transformation of β-d-arabinofuranose 1,2-(methyl)orthobenzoate into β-d-arabinofuranose 1,2,5-orthobenzoate has been accomplished upon heating with magnesium bromide in THF. The new cyclization conditions can be applied for preparing the tricyclic 1,2,5-orthobenzoate on a gram scale.     

Thiazolylblue tetrazolium bromide — a new spectrophotometric reagent for determination of manganese

A method has been developed for the micro-determination of Mn(VII) by the selective extraction of the MnO₄ ^– anion with thiazolylblue tetrazolium bromide from acidic medium. The molar absorptivity of the complex is 1 × 10⁴lmol^–1cm^–1 at 250 nm and the system obeys Beer's law in the range 0.1–1.75 gml^–1 Mn(VII). The composition and stability of the complex are discussed. The characteristic values for the extraction equilibrium and the equilibrium in the aqueous phase are: extraction constantK _ex = 3.16 × 10⁴, distribution constantK _D = 21.85 and association constant =1.45 × 10³. Manganese(VII) was determined in soils and plants. The determination was carried out without preliminary separation of manganese.     

The effect of β-cyclodextrin on the properties of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide micelles

The effect of ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) on cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micellar properties was studied by the determination of the diffusion coefficient, D. When the CTAB micelles have a spherical structure, D firstly increased and then remained unchanged, while the micellar aggregation number, N, decreased with the addition of ß-CD. When the CTAB concentration was less than the first critical micellar concentration, CTAB molecules could be included into ß-CD cavities with the molar ratio of CTAB to ß-CD being about 1:1. However, when the CTAB concentration was higher than the first critical micellar concentration, mixed spherical micelles were formed with the molar ratio of CTAB to ß-CD being 9:1.     

Crystal structure of N-(β-acetoxyethyl)-4-methylpyridinium bromide

In continuation of previous studies [1] on structures of compounds differing from acetylcholine and choline by having a pyridine ring instead of the quaternary N atom, the x-ray structure of N-(-acetoxyethyl)-4-methylpyridinium bromide, which has cholinergic activity [2], is solved.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1813–1816, August, 1991.     

Siliceous mesoporous material templated with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide–sodium dehydrocholate mixed micelles

A mixture of sodium dehydrocholate (NaDHC) and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTAB) was employed as a template to produce mesoporous silica. The obtained material shows the same structure as common MCM-41 sieves, but the pore radius distribution is narrower than that of the material produced with the same concentration of pure HDTAB. The average pore radius is also larger than that of the pure HDTAB-templated material.     

Structure and physico-chemical properties in mixed aqueous solution of sodium alkvicarboxylate-alkyltrimethylammonium bromide

The physico-chemical properties of organized assemblies (micelle or vesicle ) from sodium alkylcarboxylate - alkyltrimethyl -ammonium bromide mixture have been investigated systematically. In different mixed cationic-anionic surfactant systems, micelles and vesicles can coexist or be transformed into each other on different conditions. The experimental results are explained prelimilarily from the viewpoint of molecular packing geometry. The solubilization of organic compound in the mixed surfactant system was also studied in detail.     

Indirect electrochemical oxidation of substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to corresponding para-quinones with potassium bromide in water–chloroform medium

Indirect electrochemical synthesis of quinone derivatives of a series of substituted anthracene and naphthalene by the electrolysis of aqueous solution of potassium bromide (3.0 M) using Pt anode at constant current density (40 mA/cm²) has been carried out. These reactions resulted in good to excellent yields of the corresponding para-quinones as confirmed by physical and spectral data.     

The reaction of perfluoroalkanesulfonyl halides Ⅶ. Preparation and reactions of trifluoromethanesulfonyl bromide

The reaction between sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate, which was prepared from trifluorome-thyl bromide, with bromine in aqueous solution resulted in the formation of trifluoromethanesulfonylbromide (CF_3SO_2Br). CF_3SO_2Br reacted with alkenes and alkyne to give the corresponding adductswith the loss of SO_2 in good yields, and with compounds containing active hydrogen to give brominatedderivatives. A radical reaction mechanism was proposed and confirmed by EPR study.     

Density and viscosity of α-amino acids in aqueous solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

The densities and viscosities of aqueous solution of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (0.01 mol kg⁻¹) (CTAB) and solutions of CTAB containing amino acids, viz., glycine, l-serine, and l-valine (0.01–0.05 mol kg⁻¹), were determined in the temperature range 298.15—313.15 K. Apparent molar volumes of the amino acids were calculated from the density and viscosity values. The calculated apparent molar volumes were used to calculate standard partial molar volumes (-V ₂⁰) and standard partial molar volumes of transfer of amino acids from water to an aqueous solution of CTAB. The viscosity values were used for the calculation of the viscosity coefficients A and B in the Jones—Dole equation. The linear dependences of -V ₂⁰ and B on the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chains of the amino acids were found. The results obtained were used in analysis of hydrophilic-hydrophilic, hydrophilic-hydrophobic, and hydrophobic-hydrophobic interactions that occur during dissolution of amino acids in an aqueous solution of CTAB.     

Thermodynamics of micellization of tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide in ethylene glycol–water binary mixtures

The aggregation behaviour of tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide in ethylene glycol–water mixtures across a range of temperatures has been investigated by electrical conductivity measurements. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) and the degree of counterion dissociation of micelles were obtained at each temperature from plots of differential conductivity, (κ/c) _{T , P} , versus the square root of the total concentration of the surfactant. This procedure not only enables us to determine the cmc values more precisely than the conventional method, based on plots of conductivity against total concentration of surfactant, but also allows straightforward determination of the limiting molar conductance and the molar conductance of micellar species. The equilibrium model of micelle formation was applied to obtain the thermodynamics parameters of micellization. Only small differences have been observed in the standard molar Gibbs free energies of micellization over the temperature range investigated. The enthalpy of micellization was found to be negative in all cases, and it showed a strong dependence on temperature in the ethylene glycol poor solvent system. An enthalpy–entropy compensation effect was observed for all the systems, but whereas the micellization of the surfactant in the solvent system with 20 wt% ethylene glycol seems to occur under the same structural conditions as in pure water, in ethylene glycol rich mixtures the results suggest that the lower aggregation of the surfactant is due to the minor cohesive energy of the solvent system in relation to water. Received: 13 December 1998 Accepted in revised form: 25 February 1999