Considerations about phenol electrohydrogenation on electrodes made with reticulated vitreous carbon cathode

The electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) of phenol was carried out in aqueous media with catalytic powders. The catalytic powders were composed of palladium nanoaggregates deposited on various substrates such as Al2O3, BaSO4, and BaCO3. Composite powders are trapped (upon stirring) into a reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) matrix, allowing a rapid in situ build-up of the electrode and alleviating the use of a binder, since the latter may have a detrimental effect on the ECH. For a given amount of noble metal (5% palladium by weight), it is observed that the ECH of phenol to cyclohexanol increases in the following order: Pd/BaCO3 < Pd/BaSO4 < Pd/Al2O3. It is deduced that the ECH rate is largely dependent on the adsorption of organic molecules on the nonmetallic substrate, and a model is considered to explain such a behavior. The ECH of phenol is also feasible at a reasonable rate with composite Pd/Al2O3 (0.25% Pd by weight) powders fabricated by physical vapor deposition because the peripheral distribution of Pd nanoaggregates is favorable towards the ECH.