Electrocatalytic oxidation of 2-chlorophenol on a composite PbO2/polypyrrole electrode in aqueous solution

The electrocatalytic oxidation of 2-chlorophenol on a composite PbO₂/polypyrrole (PPy) electrode was carried out in 0.1 m H₂SO₄ solution. The composite PbO₂/PPy electrode was developed by the codeposition of polypyrrole and PbO₂ microparticles on the PbO₂/SnO₂/Ti substrate. The PbO₂ microparticles and polypyrrole in the composite electrode were observed to be hydrophilic active-sites and hydrophobic inactive-sites, respectively. The results indicated that the conversion of 2-chlorophenol and the efficiency of electrooxidation were improved on the hydrophobic-modified PbO₂/PPy electrode. The performance for electrooxidation of 2-chlorophenol on the composite PbO₂/PPy electrode was better than that on Pt or PbO₂/SnO₂/Ti electrodes. The thicker the composite (PbO₂/PPy) layer, the more active-sites in the composite electrode and the more 2-chlorophenol could be oxidized.