Abstract
The effect of cathode materials on the electrochemical reduction of nitric acid Electrochemical or chemical reduction of nitric acid is a well studied area in literature due to the importance of the products formed. The present work focuses on the effect of conventional cathode materials including PbO2, amalgamated Cu, graphite, Pb, Pt and a modified electrode material Ti/TiO2 on the reduction of nitric acid. Ammonia and hydroxylamine are the main products which are estimated by conventional titration methods. Other conditions being similar, the product distribution varies quite drastically as a function of the electrode material and Ti/TiO2 is found to favor a higher ratio of hydroxylamine to ammonia formation compared to other electrodes. The conditions have also been optimized based on the maximum yield of the product.
Highlights
The action of metal on nitric acid yields different products namely nitrous acid, hypo nitrous acid, hydroxylamine and ammonia
Electrolytic reduction of nitric acid at mercury cathode favors hydroxylamine formation but if mercurous sulphate is added, nitric oxide is obtained with 70% current efficiency
The experiments were optimized based on varying the nitric acid concentration, temperature and sulphuric acid concentration and choosing the best conditions wherein higher yield of hydroxylamine is formed
Summary
Electrochemical or chemical reduction of nitric acid is a well studied area in literature due to the importance of the products formed. The present work focuses on the effect of conventional cathode materials including PbO2, amalgamated Cu, graphite, Pb, Pt and a modified electrode material Ti/ TiO2 on the reduction of nitric acid. Ammonia and hydroxylamine are the main products which are estimated by conventional titration methods. The product distribution varies quite drastically as a function of the electrode material and Ti/ TiO2 is found to favor a higher ratio of hydroxylamine to ammonia formation compared to other electrodes. The conditions have been optimized based on the maximum yield of the product
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