Electrooxidation of benzyl alcohol at high surface area nickel (NiS_x) electrodes in alkaline solution

The heterogeneous catalytic redox behaviour of NiS_x deposited electrodes was investigated with and without benzyl alcohol in KOH solution using cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. The limiting current density for benzyl alcohol oxidation on a NiS_x electrode was 22 times larger than that on a polished nickel electrode. The experimental results in galvanostatic electrolysis using fractional factorial design showed that the main and interaction effects of benzyl alcohol concentration, temperature, and OH^- concentration are the key variables influencing the selectivity of benzaldehyde formation during electrolysis.