Catalyst layer utilisation during glycerol electrooxidation in alkaline media with electrodeposited Pd catalysts at different thicknesses

• The glycerol electrooxidation reaction (GEOR) has been increasingly studied for providing value-added chemical products whilst also facilitating a concurrent reduction process such as hydrogen evolution. Noble metals have been shown to be highly active for the GEOR in alkaline media. Here, to assess the effects of mass transport, catalyst layer thickness and pH on the GEOR, three thicknesses of Pd are electrodeposited onto a Ni rotating disk electrode and studied for a constant glycerol concentration of 0.50 M with NaOH to glycerol ratios of 1:2, 1:1 and 2:1. The electrodeposited catalysts are found to be morphologically similar with similar crystallographic structures. The activity, evaluated from the peak current density at the point of deactivation, shows that for every pH, the thinnest catalyst has the highest specific activity, whereas the thickest catalyst has the lowest. Therefore, there is a significant underutilisation of the thicker porous Pd electrodes for the GEOR. The thinnest catalyst layer is furthermore investigated in a solution of 1.0 M NaOH and 1.0 M glycerol. The doubling of the glycerol concentration in this case did not provide a significant increase in current density. Therefore, we propose that there is an optimal ratio of OHˉ to glycerol ratio in solution of around 2:1 due to the stoichiometry of the GEOR with the diffusion layer thickness and flux at higher glycerol concentrations considered.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences (hsv//eng)

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