ELECTROOXIDATION OF BIVALENT ALCOHOLS

The electrooxidation of aliphatic polyvalent alcohols is studied on Pt in H2SO4-medium under triangular potential sweep control. The anodic behaviour of the investigated organic substances is compared with that of the corresponding primary, secondary and tertiary monovalent analogues. The electrooxidation of the primary bivalent alcohols is characterized by higher cds in the double layer potential range and lower current densities in the oxygen region. The latter could be qualitatively explained on the basis of two schemes of adsorption of the organic molecule on the Pt surface. The exceptional behaviour of ethyleneglycol and glycerine can be explained as well. It is concluded that the presence of more than one OH-group does not require an essential change in the mechanism earlier accepted by the author. © 1979.