Anodic oxidation behaviors of formaldehyde at boron-doped diamond electrodes

The electrochemical behaviors of formaldehyde (FA) at boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes are investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and linear scanning voltammetry (LSV) techniques. The CV results show that the oxidation reaction of FA is influenced by the hydroxyl concentration in the solution, and the peak current response with the FA concentration is linear at the range from 10 to 100 mM. The differential capacitance from EIS results indicate that the FA molecules adsorb at the BDD electrode surface at low potential (from 1.0 to 1.4 V). The kinetic studies have been examined with the various concentrations of FA, pH, and temperature. The activation energy of FA oxidation is also calculated. The results of kinetic study indicate that the adsorption of FA molecules at the BDD electrode is the rate-determining step at low potential (from 1.0 to 1.40 V).