Electrochemical oxidation of alcoholamines at gold

Gold is a good electrocatalyst for alcoholamine oxidation in basic media. In this work the effect of alcoholamine concentration, electrolyte pH and potential scan rate on electrooxidation was studied. The adsorption of alcoholamines on a AuOHad delta- layer plays a significant role in the oxidation mechanism. The rate determining step of the process was found to be heterogeneous dehydrogenation of the alcoholamine molecule, involving electron transfer to the gold electrode and the formation of water molecule. The catalytic effect of the gold electrode on alcoholamine oxidation is higher than that observed both for aliphatic alcohol and amines.