Electrooxidation of Methanol, Ethanol and 1-Propanol on Pd Electrode in Alkaline Medium

Here, the oxidation activity of ethanol and 1-propanol compared methanol on Pd electrode has been studied in alkaline medium. We have used the amount of coulombs (coulometry) and apparent activation energy (Ea) to measure the activity of alcohol electrooxidation. The amount of coulombs during alcohol electrooxidation for ethanol and 1-propanol is much higher than that of methanol showing that ethanol and 1-propanol is more easily electrochemically oxidized than methanol. The Ea values of ethanol and 1-propanol are lower than that of methanol at the potential from -0.45 V to -0.325 V indicating that ethanol and 1-propanol shows better electrooxidation.