Electrocatalytic debromination of BDE-47 at palladized graphene electrode

Abstract

Graphene electrodes (Ti/Gr) were prepared by depositing Gr sheets on Ti substrate, followed by an annealing process for enhancing the adhesion strength. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopies and X-ray diffraction patterns displayed that the electrochemical behavior of Ti/Gr electrodes can be improved due to the generation of TiO₂ layer at Ti-Gr interface during the annealing process. The palladized Gr electrodes (Ti/Gr/Pd) were prepared by electrochemical depositing Pd nanoparticles on Gr sheets. The debromination ability of Ti/Gr/Pd electrodes was investigated using BDE-47 as a target pollutant with various bias potentials. The results indicated that the BDE-47 degradation rates on Ti/Gr/Pd electrodes increased with the negative bias potentials from 0 V to -0.5 V (vs. SCE). Almost all of the BDE-47 was removed in the debromination reaction on the Ti/Gr/Pd electrode at -0.5 V for 3 h, and the main product was diphenyl ethers, meaning it is promising to debrominate completely using the Ti/Gr/Pd electrode. Although the debromination rate was slightly slower at -0.3 V than that under -0.5 V, the current efficiency at -0.3 V was higher, because the electrical current acted mostly on BDE-47 rather than on water.

Keywords

graphene / palladium / debromination / BDE-47

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2011CB936002), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21007007).

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg