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The electrochemical reduction of formic acid to methanol
Dissertation (MSC (Chemistry))--University of Pretoria, 2018.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2018
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| _version_ | 1867613449758965760 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Radhakrishnan, Shankara Gayathri |
| author_browse | Radhakrishnan, Shankara Gayathri |
| author_facet | Radhakrishnan, Shankara Gayathri |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2018 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MSC (Chemistry))--University of Pretoria, 2018. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/66044 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:36:19.976Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publishDateRange | 2018 |
| publishDateSort | 2018 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/66044 The electrochemical reduction of formic acid to methanol Radhakrishnan, Shankara Gayathri clarissalgray@gmail.com Roduner, Emil Gray, Clarissa Louise Chemistry UCTD Dissertation (MSC (Chemistry))--University of Pretoria, 2018. Four anodic electrocatalytic powders were tested for water electrolysis. Of these a synthesised 70:30 mol% IrO2:TaC showed the best catalytic activity as it produced the highest current densities at both the stop potential of linear sweep voltammetry and the applied potential during chronoamperometric studies. The onset potential was very similar between all samples ranging between 1.49 and 1.50 V. Field emission scanning electron microscopy showed the emergence of a platy, vitreous-like phase in the synthesised powders with particle agglomerations with rounded edges, increasing the catalytic activity in comparison to commercial IrO2. For the reduction of formic acid to methanol experiments, the 70:30 mol% IrO2:TaC electrocatalyst was used as the anodic electrocatalyst and polyaniline (PANI) as the cathodic electrocatalyst. In eight samples collected from five of the nine membranes which were prepared, methanol was detected by liquid injection gas chromatography. The retention time of methanol varied between 4.62 and 4.97 minutes. This range is attributed to changes made in the gas chromatograph setup between tests. With the increase in applied potential, a higher current density and an increase in the concentration of methanol (%v/v) were observed in samples of the same membrane. The highest production of methanol was found in membrane B2 run at 5.1 V with a concentration of 0.1451 %v/v, this sample produced the highest current density in linear sweep voltammetry experiments, although it only produced the second highest current density for chronoamperometric experiments. This suggests that the catalytic activity for the reduction of formic acid to methanol is not necessarily dependent on the current density produced by the system. NRF Innovation Master's Scholarship Chemistry MSC(Chemistry) Unrestricted 2018-08-01T11:43:57Z 2018-08-01T11:43:57Z 2018-04-18 2018 Dissertation * http://hdl.handle.net/2263/66044 en © 2018 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | Chemistry UCTD The electrochemical reduction of formic acid to methanol |
| title | The electrochemical reduction of formic acid to methanol |
| title_full | The electrochemical reduction of formic acid to methanol |
| title_fullStr | The electrochemical reduction of formic acid to methanol |
| title_full_unstemmed | The electrochemical reduction of formic acid to methanol |
| title_short | The electrochemical reduction of formic acid to methanol |
| title_sort | electrochemical reduction of formic acid to methanol |
| topic | Chemistry UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/66044 |