Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Formaldehyde on Palladium Nanoparticle Electrodeposited on Carbon Ionic Liquid Electrodes

The electrocatalytic oxidation of single carbon organic substances with precious metal electrode (Pt, Pd, Au,..) as the most active electrocatalysis has been widely investigated and continues to be of interest, mainly with fuel cell applications in mind. Formaldehyde is an intermediate in methanol oxidation but because of hazardous and toxic properties, it has been studied much less than methanol [1].It is also used in technologically important processes such as electroless copper plating and also utilized in textile industry and thus its oxidation is relevant to waste water treatment [2].Formaldehyde oxidation has been explored on different electrodes.Systems with highly dispersed metal nanoparticles provide effective surface area and active site necessary for efficient catalysis.Li et. Al. [3] reported the spontaneous Pd nanoparticle formation on iodinated multi-walled carbon nanotubes for the modification of glassy carbon electrode and used it for electrocatalytic oxidation of formaldehyde. Vaskelis et. Al. [4] studied electrooxidation of formaldehyde by glassy carbon modified with Au nanoparticles..In our previous work the electrocatalytic effect of palladium nanoparticles electrodeposited on the carbon ionic liquid electrode (Pd-CILE) was studied for oxygen reduction and oxidation of hydrogen peroxide [5], and hydrazine[6].With regards to high density of deposited nanoparticle arrays on CILE and also high electrocatalytic effect of these particles, we investigated the electrocatalytic oxidation of formaldehyde on Pd-CILE