Electrocatalytic oxidation of formaldehyde using electrospinning porous zein-based polyimide fibers

Abstract

In this work, electrode coated with electrospinning porous polyimide fibers were prepared. The fiber is made by electrospinning zein from corn by-products and polyacrylic acid (PAA). The prepared porous fiber film was loaded with copper and prepared as working electrode material.The specific surface area of the porous fiber membrane is 304.6313 m2/g. The Polyimide (PI)-Cu nanoparticle electrochemical sensor was prepared by supporting non-noble metal Cu on the porous polyimide for the oxidation of formaldehyde. The prepared electrode can be used to catalyze the oxidation of formaldehyde, and the oxidation peak potential is around −0.41 V. Catalytic oxidation for 300 s at the oxidation peak potential can consume formaldehyde 0.758 × 10−6g, and the coulombic efficiency reaches 74.96%. Electrodes made of cheap metals can quickly remove formaldehyde in solution through electrochemical catalytic oxidation.