Date of Award
8-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Environmental Engineering and Science
Committee Member
Sudeep Popat
Committee Member
David Ladner
Committee Member
David Freedman
Abstract
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a powerful oxidizing agent that produces no known disinfection by products (DBPs), making it an ideal candidate for water treatment if produced efficiently. This study compared the efficiency of H2O2 electrosynthesis between different conductive carbon electrocatalysts, binding agents, and current densities, with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) as the electrolyte in a gas diffusion electrode (GDE). The results showed that for any given binding agent, the electrocatalyst that produced the most H2O2 changed based upon the current density applied to the cathodes. A current density dependent impact of Nafion as the binding agent on both Printex L6 and Vulcan XC 72 electrocatalysts was also observed, with Printex L6 performing best without Nafion used at all at 1mA/cm2 and 0.5 mA/cm2. The best performance for Vulcan XC 72 was achieved using 0.233 mg Nafion/mg C at 1mA/cm2 and 0.5 mA/cm2. Cathode performance was found to be independent of the cathode porosity, as the porosity of the different electrocatalysts were similar.
Recommended Citation
Gex, Alexander, "The Effect of Carbon Black Electrocatalyst Type and Ink Composition on the Production of H2O2 with Gas Diffusion Electrodes" (2021). All Theses. 3597.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/3597