The formation of carbon dioxide during glycerol electrooxidation in alkaline media: First spectroscopic evidences

In this work we investigate the glycerol electrooxidation reaction on polycrystalline gold in alkaline media. By using in situ FTIR we demonstrate for the first time the unambiguous presence of CO2 as electrooxidation product of glycerol in alkaline media. The estimation of OH- consumption during the electrooxidation of glycerol allows us to explain the formation of CO2 as a consequence of a sudden decrease of pH inside the thin layer, which forces glycerol (or their fragments) to react with water, thus forming CO2. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.