Ti/nano TiO2-ZrO2Electrode with High Catalytic Activity for Electrocatalytic Reduction of Maleic Acid to Succinic Acid

A highly active Ti/nano TiO2-ZrO2 film modified electrode used for electrocatalytic reduction of maleic acid was achieved by sol-gel method. Nano TiO2-ZrO2 particles with the mono-dispersion structure and the diameter of about 30 nm were observed by XRD and SEM. By cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic electrolysis experiments in maleic acid+1.0 mol•L H2SO4, the Ti/nano TiO2-ZrO2 film modified electrode was found to be much more electrocatalytive than the conventional Ti/nanoTiO2 cathode. The reaction process is controlled by diffusion. Galvanostatic electrolysis experiments were carried out on the Ti/nano TiO2-ZrO2 film modified electrode. At a current density of 20 mA•cm , a high yield of 96% was obtained at 60 . °C