The influence of metal oxide properties on the oxidation of organics

The ‘anodic oxidation’ of p-benzoquinone has been studied using a range of anode materials. The influence of the applied current density on the removal rate of p-benzoquinone has also been studied. An increase in the applied current density was found to increase the removal rate of p-benzoquinone only slightly, thus resulting in an actual decrease of the current efficiency of this process. The removal rate for p-benzoquinone was found to be influenced by several properties of the anode material. In fact, a relationship between properties of the anode such as its electroactive surface area and the removal rate of organics appears to exist.