Wasu Chaitree
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000, Thailand
Boorata Dechpisutthithum
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000, Thailand
Winrath Khrutchan
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000, Thailand
Muthita Kongroiyou
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000, Thailand
Chiwathan Srimangkorn
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000, Thailand
Ratthammanoon Sakulsinghdusit
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000, Thailand
Joongjai Panpranot
Center of Excellence on Catalysis and Catalytic Reaction Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Keywords: Bismuth, Cobalt, Electro-oxidation of glycerol, Nickel
Abstract
Toward the development of non-noble metal electrocatalysts for the valorization of glycerol, the effect of the addition of Bi on Co-Ni electrocatalysts supported on carbon cloth (CC) for the electro-oxidation of glycerol (EOG) was investigated. The CoNiBi/CC electrocatalysts were prepared via an electroless deposition method and characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Their electrochemical activity was investigated using cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. The effect of the Bi (NO3)3 concentration in the electroless bath on the EOG performance was studied, finding that CoNiBi/CC prepared using 6 mM Bi (NO3)3 (CoNiBi_6/CC) provided higher current density and lower onset potential than other electrocatalysts. The effect of applied potentials on the formation of products was also investigated. The analysis of the liquid products using high-performance liquid chromatography showed that formic acid (FA) was obtained as the main product along with oxalic acid as a minor product. The highest rate of FA formation was 772.95 mol cm−2 h−1 at 0.7 V vs. Ag/AgCl after 2 h of reaction, and the highest selectivity for FA was 77.5% at 0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Overall, the CoNiBi/CC electrocatalyst is a promising and cost-effective alternative for the electrochemical valorization of glycerol into value-added chemicals.
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