Electrocatalytic properties of Ru + Ti + Ce mixed oxide electrodes for the Cl2 evolution reaction

A Reflection on Sustainable Anode Materials for Electrochemical Chloride Oxidation

Chloride oxidation is a key industrial electrochemical process in chlorine-based chemical production and water treatment. Over the past few decades, dimensionally stable anodes (DSAs) consisting of RuO2 - and IrO2 -based mixed-metal oxides have been successfully commercialized in the electrochemical chloride oxidation industry. For a sustainable supply of anode materials, considerable efforts both from the scientific and industrial aspects for developing earth-abundant-metal-based electrocatalysts have been made. This review first describes the history of commercial DSA fabrication and strategies to improve their efficiency and stability. Important features related to the electrocatalytic performance for chloride oxidation and reaction mechanism are then summarized. From the perspective of sustainability, recent progress in the design and fabrication of noble-metal-free anode materials, as well as methods for evaluating the industrialization of novel electrocatalysts, are highlighted. Finally, future directions for developing highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for industrial chloride oxidation are proposed.

Cytotoxicity assays to evaluate tannery effluents treated by photoelectrooxidation

The advanced oxidation process (AOP) is used to increase the treatment efficiency of effluents however, it is necessary to compare the toxicity of treated and untreated effluents to evaluate if the decontamination process does not cause any biological harm. Cultured cells have been previously used to assess the genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of various compounds. Hence, the aim of this work was to assess the applicability of cytotoxicity assays to evaluate the toxicity related to the AOP treatment. Samples of an industrial effluent were collected after their treatment by a conventional method. Cytotoxicity of standard and AOP treated effluents was assessed in CRIB and HEp-2 cell line using the MTT and neutral red assays. We observed decrease at cell viability in the both assays (50% MTT and 13% NRU) when cells were exposed to the AOP treatment in the highest concentration. Thus, cytotoxic assays in cultured cells can be explored as an useful method to evaluate toxicity as well as to optimize effluents treatment process.

Degradation of the commercial surfactant nonylphenol ethoxylate by advanced oxidation processes

Four different oxidation process, namely direct photolysis (DP) and three advanced oxidation processes (heterogeneous photocatalysis - HP, eletrochemical oxidation - EO and photo-assisted electrochemical oxidation - PEO) were applied in the treatment of wastewater containing nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPnEO). The objective of this work was to determine which treatment would be the best option in terms of degradation of NPnEO without the subsequent generation of toxic compounds. In order to investigate the degradation of the surfactant, the processes were compared in terms of UV/Vis spectrum, mineralization (total organic carbon), reaction kinetics, energy efficiency and phytotoxicity. A solution containing NPnEO was prepared as a surrogate of the degreasing wastewater, was used in the processes. The results showed that the photo-assisted processes degrade the surfactant, producing biodegradable intermediates in the reaction. On the other hand, the electrochemical process influences the mineralization of the surfactant. The process of PEO carried out with a 250W lamp and a current density of 10mA/cm(2) showed the best results in terms of degradation, mineralization, reaction kinetics and energy consumption, in addition to not presenting phytotoxicity. Based on this information, this process can be a viable alternative for treating wastewater containing NPnEO, avoiding the contamination of water resources.

Treatment of solutions containing nonylphenol ethoxylate by photoelectrooxidation

In this work the photoelectrooxidation (PEO) was applied in the treatment of a solution containing nonylphenol ethoxylate surfactant (NP4EO). The use of different lamps (125 and 250 W), current density (5 and 10 mA cm(-2)) and treatment time (0, 60, 120, 180 and 240 min) were investigated. The samples were characterized by UV/Vis, total organic carbon (TOC), gas chromatography associated to mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) and ecotoxicity. The reaction kinetics were calculated and the light flux and pH were measured. The results of analysis by UV/Vis show that there is degradation of nonylphenol ethoxylated in the treatment time of 240 min for all configurations, and the configurations that used a 250 W lamp and a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) obtained better results, with a reduction of 83% in TOC, indicating a high mineralization of the surfactant. It was further found in the GC/MS that the configurations that used the 125 W lamp promoted a smaller incident light flux on the solution, and, regardless of the applied current density, it was generated the reaction intermediate nonylphenol, more toxic than the parent compound. The opposite can be observed when a 250 W lamp was used, which produced a higher incident light flux. Based on the degradation products detected, a simplified mechanism for degradation of nonylphenol ethoxylate was proposed. Although a treatment time of 240 min with photoelectrooxidation with different configurations was not effective in the complete mineralization of the compound, a promising process was developed with the treatment using a lamp of 250 W and a current density of 10 mA cm(-2), which generated a solution with less toxicity than the original one.

ESTUDOS ELETROQUÍMICOS DA OXIDAÇÃO DO POLUENTE ORGÂNICO PERSISTENTE 4-CLOROFENOL

O presente trabalho trata da preparação e caracterização de eletrodos do tipo Anodos Dimensionalmente Estáveis, ADE®, para degradação de compostos orgânicos. Os eletrodos foram preparados pela decomposição térmica de precursores poliméricos a 450 ºC, com as seguintes composições nominais: Ti/Pt(30%)RuO2(10%)SnO2(60%), Ti/Pt(30%)RuO2(30%)SnO2(40%) e Ti/Pt(30%)RuO2(35%)SnO2(35%). As análises por difração de raios X mostraram a existência de Pt apenas na forma metálica com estrutura cúbica de face centrada. Os óxidos de rutênio e estanho apresentaram estrutura tetragonal e formaram soluções sólidas para concentrações de RuO2 ≥ 30 %. As micrografias obtidas mostraram morfologia de barro–rachado para os eletrodos com alta porcentagem de rutênio. As análises por Voltametria cíclica realizadas em meio ácido na presença do 4-Clorofenol, 4-CF, evidenciaram o aparecimento de um pico anódico próximo a 1,0 V vs Ag/AgCl(KCl-3,0 mol/L) sendo proporcional a concentração do 4-CF. Teste de eletrólise mostraram que os eletrodos Ti/Pt(30%)RuO2(30%)SnO2(40%) e Ti/Pt(30%)RuO2(35%)SnO2(35%) são consideravelmente mais eficientes. Os resultados obtidos por Impedância Eletroquímica mostraram que o eletrodo Ti/Pt(30%)RuO2(35%)SnO2(35%) tem menor resistência de transferência de carga.

On the faradaic selectivity and the role of surface inhomogeneity during the chlorine evolution reaction on ternary Ti–Ru–Ir mixed metal oxide electrocatalysts

Faradaic selectivity of the chlorine and oxygen evolution (left) is linked to the spatial inhomogeneity of the surface reactivity of Ti–Ru–Ir mixed metal oxide catalysts.

Electrocatalytic properties and stability of titanium anodes activated by the inorganic sol-gel procedure

The properties of activated titanium anodes, RuO2-TiO2/Ti and RuO2--TiO2-IrO2/Ti, prepared from oxide sols by the sol-gel procedure, are reviewed. RuO2 and TiO2 sols were synthesized by forced hydrolysis of the corresponding chlorides in acid medium. The morphology of the prepared sols was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The chemical composition of the RuO2 sol was determined by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. The loss of electrocatalytic activity of a RuO2-TiO2/Ti anode during an accelerated stability test was investigated by examination of the changes in the electrochemical characteristics in the potential region of the chlorine and oxygen evolution reaction, as well as on the open circuit potential. These electrochemical characteristics were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization measurements. The changes in electrochemical characteristics of the anode prepared by the sol-gel procedure were compared to the changes registered for an anode prepared by the traditional thermal decomposition of metal chlorides. The comparison indicated that the main cause for the activity loss of the sol-gel prepared anode was the electrochemical dissolution of RuO2, while in the case of thermally prepared anode the loss was mainly caused by the formation of an insulating TiO2 layer in the coating/Ti substrate interphase. The results of an accelerated stability test on RuO2-TiO2/Ti and RuO2--TiO2-IrO2/Ti anodes showed that the ternary coating is considerably more stable than the binary one, which is the consequence of the greater stability of IrO2 in comparison to RuO2.