Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalytic Reactions in Cobalt Oxide/Graphite Air Electrodes: I . Chemical Kinetics of Peroxide Decomposition by Co(II) Ions in Alkaline Solutions

Abstract

This paper considers the role played by dissolved cobaltous ions in concentrated alkaline solutions in the homogeneous decomposition of and its significance to oxygen reduction in alkaline media. Dissolved cobaltous ions, in the form of in concentrated alkaline solutions, show a very high catalytic activity for the decomposition of even at a concentration of 1 ppm. The homogeneous decomposition of peroxide is not a simple first‐order reaction as reported in literature but is a 1.2 order reaction. It is suggested that kinetics of decomposition of in the presence of is controlled by the homogeneous catalytic reaction of the ions, the heterogeneous redox reaction between ions in solution, and the Co3+ ions in the cobalt oxide spinel lattice sites.