Mauro C. Santos

Electrochemical incineration of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in sulfate medium and synthetic urine matrix

The degradation of 100 mL of 0.245 mM of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in 0.05 M Na2SO4 at pH 3.0 has been studied by electrochemical oxidation with electrogenerated H2O2 (EO-H2O2), electro-Fenton (EF), UVA photoelectro-Fenton (PEF) and solar PEF (SPEF). Electrolyses were performed with a stirred tank reactor using either a boron-doped diamond (BDD) or Pt anode and an air-diffusion cathode. In EF, PEF and SPEF, ciprofloxacin was rapidly removed due to its oxidation with (•)OH formed from Fentons reaction between added Fe(2+) and H2O2 generated at the cathode. The larger electrochemical incineration of the antibiotic was achieved by SPEF with BDD with 95% mineralization thanks to the additional attack by hydroxyl radicals formed from water oxidation at the BDD anode surface and the photolysis of final Fe(III)-oxalate and Fe(III)-oxamate species from sunlight. Up to 10 primary intermediates and 11 hydroxylated derivatives were identified by LC-MS, allowing the proposal of a reaction sequence for ciprofloxacin mineralization. A different behavior was found when the same antibiotic concentration was oxidized in a synthetic urine matrix with high urea content and a mixture of PO4(3-), SO4(2-) and Cl(-) ions. Since Fentons reaction was inhibited in this medium, only EO and EO-H2O2 processes were useful for mineralization, being the organics mainly degraded by HClO formed from Cl(-) oxidation. The EO process with a BDD/stainless steel cell was found to be the most powerful treatment for the urine solution, yielding 96% ciprofloxacin removal and 98% mineralization after 360 min of electrolysis at optimum values of pH 3.0 and current density of 66.6 mA cm(-2). The evolution of released inorganic ions was followed by ion chromatography.

Ethanol oxidation reaction on IrPtSn/C electrocatalysts with low Pt content

In this work, the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) was investigated using ternary nanostructured materials composed of IrPtSn/C in mass proportions of Ir:Pt:Sn at 60:30:10, 60:20:20 and 60:10:30, prepared with a polymeric precursor method and compared with commercial electrocatalyst PtSn/C E-TEK. X-ray diffractometry was used to obtain information about the structure of the material. The transmission electron microscopy showed particle sizes of 5-7 nm. The electrocatalytic activity was investigated using chronoamperometry experiments at 0.5 V vs. RHE and by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy by attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) experiments. From in situ FTIR-ATR experiments, it can be seen that using the best material IrPtSn/C 60:20:20, the acetaldehyde was produced at high intensities and CO2 at lower intensities. The use of IrPtSn/C 60:20:20 materials became possible to diminish the Pt fraction to ca. 73% in comparison to the PtSn/C E-TEK electrocatalyst, with an improvement of ca. 282% in the current density of the chronoamperometric experiments.

Glycerol electrooxidation in alkaline medium using Pd/C, Au/C and PdAu/C electrocatalysts prepared by electron beam irradiation

Pd/C, Au/C and PdAu/C electrocatalysts with different atomic ratios prepared using electron beam irradiation were tested for glycerol electrooxidation in single alkaline direct glycerol fuel cell (ADGFC). X-ray diffractograms (XRD) of PdAu/C electrocatalysts showed the presence of Pd (fcc) and Au (fcc) phases. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry showed that PdAu/C electrocatalyst with Pd:Au atomic ratio of 50:50 demonstrated superior activity for glycerol electrooxidation, at room temperature. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy by attenuated total reflectance (ATR-FTIR) experiments were performed for the electrocatalysts, identifying oxalate, glycerate ion, 1,3-dihydroxy-2-propanone, glyceraldehyde and glycolate as products of glycerol electrooxidation. Experiments with single ADGFC were carried out from 50 to 90 oC, using Pd/C electrocatalyst; the best performance was obtained at 80 oC.

DFT and electrochemical studies on nortriptyline oxidation sites.

A study on the possible sites of oxidation and epoxidation of nortriptyline was performed using electrochemical and quantum chemical methods; these sites are involved in the biological responses (for example, hepatotoxicity) of nortriptyline and other similar antidepressants. Quantum chemical studies and electrochemical experiments demonstrated that the oxidation and epoxidation sites are located on the apolar region of nortriptyline, which will useful for understanding the molecule’s activity. Also, for the determination of the compound in biological fluids or in pharmaceutical formulations, we propose a useful analytical methodology using a graphite-polyurethane composite electrode, which exhibited the best performance when compared with boron-doped diamond or glassy carbon surfaces.

Nanomaterials for energy conversion and storage

1 Laboratorio de Eletroquimica e Materiais Nanoestruturados, Centro de Ciencias Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Rua Santa Adelia, 166, Bairro Bangu, CEP 09210-170, Santo Andre SP, Brazil 2Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3G8 3Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA

Reaproveitamento de óxidos de manganês de pilhas descartadas para eletrocatálise da reação de redução de oxigênio em meio básico

The oxygen reduction reaction was studied in alkaline media using manganese oxides obtained from spent batteries as electrocatalysts. Three processes were used to recover manganese oxides from spent batteries. The particles obtained were in the range from 8 to 11 nm. The electrochemical experiments indicated a good electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen reduction using the different samples and showing approximately a direct transference of 4 electrons during the process. Even though all the processes were efficient, the best result was observed for the prepared sample using reactants of low cost.

Electrooxidation of Mixed Ethanol and Methanol Solutions on PtSn/C Electrocatalysts Prepared by the Polymeric Precursor Method

Different mass ratio proportions of PtSn (m/m) electrocatalysts with 20% metal loading on a carbon support were prepared for use in ethanol:methanol solutions oxidation reactions. PtSn/C (3:1) (91% alloy degree, lattice parameter of 0.399 nm and mean crystallite size 4.8 nm) presented the best activity for oxidation of mixed solutions. The highest normalized current (ethanol:methanol 80:20) was 4.2 mA mgPt (measured after 1800 seconds at 0.5 V). Therefore, the PtSn/C (3:1) electrocatalyst with an atomic ratio of 65:35 enhanced both the electronic effect and bifunctional mechanism in (ethanol:methanol 80:20), which resulted in the formation of CO2 at low potentials, as well as the highest amount of by-products than ethanol and methanol.

Fuel Cells: Hydrogen and Ethanol Technologies

There have been many recent advances in hydrogen and ethanol-based technologies for fuel cells. Buses and hybrid cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells are increasingly common. This indicates how this has shown greater advances for stationary applications, in which more electric charge is required. Ethanol fuel cell technology is a growing field, including batteries, mobile phones, chargers, and electronic devices there are still challenges to overcome for the construction of fuel cells using both hydrogen and ethanol. However, studies have shown significant advances, which may enable this technology to dominate applications in the near future.

Carbon-Based Materials: Recent Advances, Challenges, and Perspectives

Carbon-based materials can be used for environmental remediation and as alternative energy sources to replace the use of fossil fuels. The existing barriers will be overcome soon by optimizing the synthesis of carbon-based materials, which have proven to be highly efficient due to their excellent properties for a variety of applications, such as the degradation of organic pollutants, the generation of clean energy from the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 , the photocatalytic generation of H 2 , and sensors, among others.

Degradação eletroquímica da vinhaça usando eletrodo de diamante dopado com boro

The degradation of vinasses in aqueous solution from ethanol industry has been investigated by electrochemical oxidation using a boron doped diamond electrode (BDD). Samples of vinasses were electrolyzed in medium of (0.1 mol L-1) Na2SO4 solutions at controlled potentials of +2.4, +3.0 and +4.0 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and exhibited considerable reduction of total organic carbon. The cyclic voltammetry studies indicate that the vinasses are oxidized irreversibly over the BDD at 2.0 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in diffusion controlled process. From the experimental results it is clear that the BDD electrode can be a valuable tool to the electrochemical degradation of vinasses in practical applications