Oxidation of chlorophenols on Pt electrode in alkaline solution studied by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic electrolysis, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry*

Potentiodynamic investigations on a platinum electrode show that oxidation of phenol, monochlorophenols, dichlorophenols, 2,3,6-, 2,4,5-, 2,4,6-trichlorophenols, and pentachlorophenol in 1 M NaOH solution, containing 1 mM of phenols, proceeds in the potential region of Pt oxide formation. The oxidation rate of phenols decreases with the increase in the number of chlorine atoms in the benzene ring in the row: phenol > monochlorophenols > dichlorophenols > trichlorophenols > pentachlorophenol. The electrochemical stability of phenols, as studied using a cyclic voltammetry, depends on their chlorination degree and isomerism. Galvanostatic oxidation of 1 M NaOH solutions containing 1 mM of phenol, monochlorophenols, dichlorophenols, 2,3,6-, 2,4,5-, 2,4,6-trichlorophenols, and pentachlorophenol were carried out on a platinum electrode using 30 mA cm–2 current density. The electrolysis of the solutions was performed in the course of 10 h, and concentration of phenols in the anolytes was monitored during oxidation. The concentration of phenolic compounds diminishes from 1 mM to 10–50 μM during 4–5 h of electrooxidation and does not change during further galvanostatic oxidation. A decrease in concentration of phenols during galvanostatic electrolysis weakly depends on the isomerism and a chlorination degree of the compounds. A rapid decrease in concentration of studied phenols during the first 4–5 h of electrolysis and a nonselective oxidation of different chlorophenols suggest that the oxidation proceeds via electrochemically generated oxidants. Further decrease in concentration of phenols is rather small due to deactivation of the electrode as a result of polymerization of corresponding phenols and diffusion limitations.