Open AccessSubstrate and pH‐dependent homogeneous electrocatalysis using riboflavin for oxygen reduction
Author(s) -
Leeb Elisabeth,
Wielend Dominik,
Schimanofsky Corina,
Sariciftci Niyazi Serdar
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
electrochemical science advances
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2698-5977
DOI - 10.1002/elsa.202100211
Subject(s) - electrocatalyst , faraday efficiency , electrolysis , glassy carbon , chemistry , hydrogen peroxide , cyclic voltammetry , inorganic chemistry , riboflavin , carbon fibers , electrolysis of water , aqueous solution , oxygen , substrate (aquarium) , electrode , voltammetry , electrochemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , electrolyte , biochemistry , oceanography , composite material , composite number , geology
Homogeneous, aqueous solutions of the natural compound riboflavin were investigated for their electrocatalytic oxygen to hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) reduction performance using cyclic voltammetry and electrolysis. In addition to pH dependencies, interestingly the choice of carbon‐based electrode material had a strong impact on the electrocatalytic performance. Therefore, the three electrode materials, glassy carbon, carbon paper (CP), and carbon felt were electrochemically compared and afterwards investigated with scanning electron microscopy. Attributed to the deprotonation of riboflavin, pH = 13 was identified as the best performing condition. Using CP at pH = 13, the addition of riboflavin enhanced the H 2 O 2 production by a factor of 14 up to 355 μmol after 6 h at an average faradaic efficiency of around 80%.