Surface Effects on Chemical Bond Activation in Water and Small Organic Molecules During Electrochemical Conversion to Carbon Dioxide

小有机分子的电催化氧化形成了德克萨斯理工大学Korzeniewski教授的研究重点。该项目由分析和表面化学项目支持，利用色谱法和小体积电解方法研究甲醇电催化氧化过程中中间体形成的动力学。通过监测活化对铂电极上CO振荡伏安法的影响，探讨了这些电解过程中水的活化情况。来自这些研究的信息将有助于改进直接甲醇燃料电池的设计，以及使用电催化来破坏地下水中的有机污染物。详细了解小有机分子的电催化氧化对燃料电池的发展和污染地下水资源的修复过程至关重要。本研究项目利用反应中间体的色谱检测和电极动力学的伏安探针相结合来研究这些过程的机制。

The electrocatalytic oxidation of small organic molecules forms the focus of the research of Professor Korzeniewski at Texas Tech University. This project, supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, addresses the kinetics of formation of intermediates in the electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol using chromatography coupled with small volume electrolysis methods. The activation of water in these electrolytic processes is probed by monitoring the effect of the activation on the oscillatory voltammetry of CO on the platinum electrode. Information from these studies will enable the improved design of direct methanol fuel cells as well as the use of electrocatalysis for the destruction of organic contaminants in groundwater. A detailed understanding of the electrocatalytic oxidation of small organic molecules is important to the development of fuel cells and processes for remediation of contaminated groundwater sources. This research project studies the mechanisms of these processes using a combination of chromatographic detection of reaction intermediates and voltammetric probes of electrode kinetics.