The electro-oxidation of the mixture of formaldehyde and 2-propanol on gold (100) and (111) single crystal planes in alkaline medium

Abstract

The effect of formaldehyde on the oxidation of 2-propanol and vice versa on gold single crystal planes (100 and 111) was studied. An activating effect in the reaction of the simultaneous oxidation of 2-propanol and formaldehyde was obtained on a gold (100) plane. In the case of a gold (111) electrode, the activation effect was not obtained. It was concluded that the adsorption of formaldehyde on the electrode surface prevents the adsorption of poisoning species formed during the electro-oxidation of 2-propanol on the Au(100) plane, while this is not the case on the Au(111) plane. The different behaviour is caused by the difference in the symmetry of the surface atoms of these two Au single-crystal planes.

Keywords

• electro-oxidation
• synergistic effect
• 2-propanol
• formaldehyde
• gold single crystal planes