β Scribed by Andrew Capon; Roger Parson
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
The stimulus given to the study of catalytic oxidations of small organic molecules over the past two decades, resulted from growing commercial interest in the fuel cell as a direct energy converter, and the desire to find an alternative fuel to hydrogen for low temperature cell operation. Methanol (CH3OH) was considered one of the most promising fuels because of the high yield of six electrons per molecule during oxidation to CO2, and because of its ease in handling compared to other possible fuels such as hydrazine (N2H4).
The renewed interest in formic acid (HCOOH) oxidation arose both as a result of its possible use as a fuel ~, and from a wish to study a simple oxidation reaction in order to gain a deeper understanding of the CH3OH reaction. However the sought-after simplicity was not found and general agreement on adsorption and oxidation mechanisms for HCOOH and HCOO-have yet to be reached.
The subject has been reviewed several times 2-9 and those reviews by Breiter 2, Damaskin et al. 3 and Vielstich 4, the latter containing much of the author's unpublished results, taken together represent a comprehensive report of the fundamental work up to 1968-9. This review concentrates on the oxidation of HCOOH in acid solutions.
REVIEW
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
The oxidation of formic acid at a platinum electrode in 0.5 mol dm-j HsSO, was investigated by dc and cc methods. The oxidation rate of formic acid was approximately independent of the potential at potentials above about 0.35V vs. rhe, when the blocking effect of adsorbed carbon monoxide was compens