The electrochemical reduction of oxygen at boron-doped diamond and glassy carbon electrodes: A comparative study in a room-temperature ionic liquid

Journal article

The reduction of oxygen on boron-doped diamond (BDD) and glassy carbon (GC) electrodes was studied in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [C2mim][NTf2]. O 2 reduction at both electrodes was found to involve the 1e - reduction of oxygen to superoxide. The formation of superoxide was verified by repeating the oxygen reduction on BDD in the presence of benzoic acid, resulting in a shift from the 1e- reduction observed in the absence of benzoic acid to a 2e- reduction yielding the hydroperoxyl anion. The reduction of O2 was found to be quasi-reversible on GC and irreversible on BDD. The significantly slower kinetics observed on the BDD electrode are likely due to the lower electronic density of states in BDD. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Authors: Ernst, S; Aldous, L; Compton, R

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: JOURNAL OF ELECTROANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
• Volume: 663
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 108-112
• Publication date: 2011-12-15
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2011.10.004
• ISSN: 1572-6657
• Language: English
• Keywords: Cyclic voltammetry; Superoxide; Boron-doped diamond; Glassy carbon; Ionic liquids; Oxygen reduction