Abstract
The degradation of organic pollutants in water by electro-oxidation (EO) process is a very active research topic, but it has been pre-eminently focused on the development of anodes with enhanced electrocatalytic ability to produce OH at their surface. Conversely, the degradation pathways that may arise from the potential OH production at the cathode surface are often disregarded. This work discusses the contribution of OH, formed at a Ti, graphite, stainless steel or Pt cathode from the reduction of O2 or H2O2, to phenol oxidation in 0.5 mol dm−3 H2SO4 medium. The OH production in the cathodic compartment of a divided cell was assessed from coumarin oxidation monitored via UV/Vis spectroscopy and HPLC with a fluorescence detector, salicylic acid oxidation evaluated by HPLC with a photodiode array detector and electron paramagnetic resonance. It was demonstrated that the production depended on the cathode nature, decreasing as: Pt > graphite » stainless steel > Ti. It was concluded that a two-electron reaction converted O2 to H2O2, which was monoelectronically reduced to OH. The results reveal the importance of cathode selection in water treatment by EO.
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