Is It Possible to Restrain OER on Simple Carbon Electrodes to Efficiently Electrooxidize Organic Pollutants?
Marija Ječmenica Dučić,
Danka Aćimović,
Branislava Savić,
Lazar Rakočević,
Marija Simić,
Tanja Brdarić,
Dragana Vasić Anićijević
Affiliations
Marija Ječmenica Dučić
University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences-National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Physical Chemistry, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia
Danka Aćimović
University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences-National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Physical Chemistry, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia
Branislava Savić
University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences-National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Physical Chemistry, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia
Lazar Rakočević
University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences-National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Atomics Physics, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia
Marija Simić
University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences-National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Physical Chemistry, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia
Tanja Brdarić
University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences-National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Physical Chemistry, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia
Dragana Vasić Anićijević
University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences-National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Physical Chemistry, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia
This paper presents a comparative analysis of three carbon-based electrodes: bare multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), SnO2/MWCNT, and PbO2/graphene-nanoribbons (PbO2/GNR) composites, as anodes for the electrooxidative degradation of Rhodamine B as a model organic pollutant. Anodic electrooxidation of Rhodamine B was performed on all three electrodes, and the decolorization efficiency was found to increase in the order MWCNT 2/GNR 2/MWCNT. The electrodes were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). It was proposed that, in the 0.1 M Na2SO4 applied as electrolyte, observed decolorization mainly occurs in the interaction of Rhodamine B with OH radical adsorbed on the anode. Finally, the obtained results were complemented with Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations of OH-radical interaction with appropriate model surfaces: graphene(0001), SnO2(001), and PbO2(001). It was found that the stabilization of adsorbed OH-radical on metal oxide spots (SnO2 or PbO2) compared to carbon is responsible for the improved efficiency of composites in the degradation of Rhodamine B. The observed ability of metal oxides to improve the electrooxidative potential of carbon towards organic compounds can be useful in the future design of appropriate anodes.
