Recent advances on the use of active anodes in environmental electrochemistry

Active anodes, especially those consisting of metal mixed oxides (MMOs) containing Ru and/or Ir oxides, have been applied in the treatment of wastewater, especially when chloride ions are present. Their characteristics continuously drive the study of applications of these materials, be they in the degradation of different organic molecules, the preparation of new electrode materials and in the association of various processes to increase pollutant removal. Thus, this brief review aims to present some of the recent advances in the application of active anode materials in environmental electrochemistry. Focussing on the 2018–2020 period, it is possible to note many applied studies, using commercially available materials, covering a wide range of target pollutants. Still other studies aim to modify the catalyst surfaces to increase the mineralization capacity, and the use of these anodes in the production of free chlorine species to mediate indirect organic reduction is observed.     

Electrocatalysis in confined space

The complex interplay of restricted mass transport leading to local accumulation or depletion of educts, intermediates, products, counterions and co-ions influences the reactions at the active sites of electrocatalysts when electrodes are rough, three-dimensionally mesoporous or nanoporous. This influence is important with regard to activity, and even more to selectivity, of electrocatalytic reactions. The underlying principles are discussed based on the growing awareness of these considerations over recent years.     

Solid-state Electrochemistry of Gadolinium Hexacyanoferrate Modified Electrode and Electrocatalytic Properties of Gadolinium Hexacyanoferrate

A new electroactive polynuclear inorganic compound of rare earth metal, gadolinium hexacyanoferrate (GdHCF), was prepared and characterized using the techniques of FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TG), UV-Vis spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ICP atomic emission spectroscopy, and EDX. The results of ICP atomic emission spectroscopy, EDX, and TGA indicated that the prepared GdHCF sample had a stoichiometry of NaGdFe(CN)₆·12H₂O (when GdHCF was prepared in NaCl solution). The FTIR spectrum of GdHCF showed that there were two types of water molecules in the structure of GdHCF: one was the interstitial water (5 H₂O), which resulted from the association of water due to H-bonding, and the other was water coordinated with Gd (7 H₂O). The results obtained using XPS showed that the oxidation state of Fe and Gd in the GdHCF sample was +2 and +3, respectively. GdHCF was immobilized on the surface of spectroscopically pure graphite (SG) electrode forming the GdHCF/SG electrode, and the solid-state electrochemistry of the resultant electrode was studied using cyclic voltammetry. The cyclic voltammetric results indicated that the GdHCF/SG electrode exhibited a pair of well-defined and stable redox peaks with the formal potential of E^0′=(197±3) mV. The effects of the concentration of the supporting electrolyte on the electrochemical characteristics of GdHCF were studied, and the results showed that the value of E^0′ increased linearly with the activity of the cationic ion of the supporting electrolyte (lga_Na⁺), with a slope of 54.1 mV, which may become a novel method for determining the activity of Na⁺ in solution. Further experimental results indicated that GdHCF had electrocatalytic activities toward the oxidation of dopamine (DA) and ascorbic acid (AA), and the electrocatalytic current increased linearly with the concentration of DA (or AA) in the range of 1.0–10.0 mmol·L^?1 (for DA) or 0.5–20.0 mmol·L^?1 (for AA).     

Electrochemical Detection of As(III) via Iodine Electrogenerated at Platinum,Gold, Diamond or Carbon‐Based Electrodes

The reaction of iodine, electrogenerated from iodide, is used for the detection of As(III) via electrocatalytic reaction in the diffusion layer of a boron‐doped diamond electrode. The merits of this electrode material for this purpose (over platinum, gold or glassy carbon) are demonstrated and the kinetics of the reaction between I₂ and As(III) in acid reported.     

2-Propanol oxidation on platinum and platinum–rhodium electrodeposits

The electrocatalytic oxidation of 2-propanol was investigated using on line differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) on electrodeposited Pt and an arrange of bimetallics: Pt_0.84Rh_0.16, Pt_0.70Rh_0.30, Pt_0.55Rh_0.45. It has been observed that the Pt_0.84Rh_0.16 bimetallic electrode presented the best catalytic activity for 2-propanol electrochemical oxidation. Since 2-propanol is a secondary alcohol, only acetone and CO₂ are produced. The total yield of CO₂ and acetone has been determined from the DEMS measurements. It is found that acetone is the major product, as reported before for other electrodes. The acetone and CO₂ yield depends on the electrode composition. High amount of rhodium in the electrode composition strongly diminish the reaction rate as indicated by the decrease of both the acetone and CO₂ yield. However, acetone inhibition is much more intense. The only bimetallic electrode that presents considerable mass spectroscopy signals intensity for CO₂ and acetone is the Pt_0.84Rh_0.16 electrode. This electrode shows a slight increase in CO₂ selectivity, compared to the other electrodes studied in this work. Only very low coverages of stable adsorbates were present during the reaction. Two and one carbon adsorbate were observed for all the electrodes. Three carbon adsorbates were detected only for the Pt_0.84Rh_0.16 electrode. Therefore, acetone production does not require a stable adsorbate.     

同多酸和杂多酸修饰微电极的电化学研究——Ⅳ.1:2-磷钼杂多酸薄膜修饰碳纤维微电极的制备和电化性质

本文报道了1:12-磷铜杂多酸(PMo_(12)薄膜修饰碳纤维(CF)微电极的制备及其电化学性质。采用简单,快速的浸渍吸附制备的PMo_(12)薄膜修饰CF电极在酸性介质中具有很高的稳定性和氧化还原活性,电解质溶液的pH值和扫描电位范围对PMo_(12)膜的稳定性和电化学性质产生较大的影响。另一方面,PMo_(12)薄膜修饰CF微电极对酸性水溶液中的PMo_(12)和氯酸根离子(ClO)_3~-)的电催化还原作用也进行了描述。     

Investigation of the electrocatalytic behavior of single-wall carbon nanotube films on an Au electrode

The voltammetric behavior of uric acid (UA) was studied with an Au electrode modified with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). In 0.1 M HAc-NaAc buffer solution (pH 5.0), the SWNT-modified electrode shows high electrocatalytic activity toward UA oxidation. The electro-oxidation of UA is an irreversible diffusion-controlled process with a diffusion coefficient (D) of 8.85×10⁻⁶ cm² s⁻¹. The peak current increases linearly with the concentration of UA in the range of 4.0×10⁻⁶-7.0×10⁻⁴ M. The detection limit is 1.0×10⁻⁶ M. The SWNT was characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the SWNT-modified electrode has favorable electrocatalytic activity toward dopamine and norepinephrine. This SWNT-modified electrode can also separate the electrochemical responses of uric acid, norepinephrine and ascorbic acid.     

低电流密度下恒电流法制备的聚苯胺修饰电极

研究了低电流密度下恒电流法制备的聚苯（ＰＡ）修饰电极的性质及其影响因素，探讨了低电流密度聚合的ＰＡ膜的优点。发现此种条件下聚合的ＰＡ膜具有较好的电荷传输能力，它不仅对Ｂｒ＾－，Ｔｌ＾＋／Ｔｌ等电对的氧化还原反应有更好的电催化活性，而且对Ｈ＾＋的Ｎｅｒｎａｓｔ响应也更接近理论值。     

Fabrication of Poly(allylamine)ferrocene Monolayer Based on Electrostatic Interaction and Its Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ascorbic Acid

A poly(allylamine)ferrocene monolayer was built on the surface of gold electrode modified with negatively charged alkanethiol based on electrostatic interaction. The electrochemical behavior of the modified electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry in detail. The modified electrode was shown to exhibit excellent electrocatalytic response to the oxidation of ascorbic acid. The anodic overpotential was reduced by about 170 mV compared with that obtained at a bare gold electrode. The modified electrode possesses several attractive features, such as simple preparation, fast response and good chemical and mechanical stability.