Electrochemical Reduction of Benzaldehyde Using Ag/Nafion as an Electrode

Abstract

Electrochemical reduction of benzaldehyde using reduced silver bonded on solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) as electrode without supporting electrolyte in the liquid-organic phase was investigated. The electrode is written as Ag/Nafion. The Ag/Nafion electrode was prepared for the electrolysis of organic compounds in this SPE system. The reaction mechanism was proposed. The results reveal that no benzyl alcohol is found when fresh Nafion was used as electrode. The selectivity of benzyl alcohol when Ag/Nafion was used as electrode is almost 100%, and only a trace of hydrobenzoin byproduct is found in catholyte. The best current efficiency of benzyl alcohol in this system is 9.9%. The main factors affecting the current efficiency of cathodic reduction of benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol are cell voltage, solvent, and temperature while the minor factor is charge passed. The Ag/Nafion electrode in the SPE system for electrochemical reduction of organic compounds is feasible and a potential technique