Electrochemical degradation of trichloroacetic acid in aqueous media: influence of the electrode material

Abstract The electrochemical degradation of trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) in water has been analysed through voltammetric studies with a rotating disc electrode and controlled-potential bulk electrolyses. The influence of the mass-transport conditions and initial concentration of TCAA for titanium, stainless steel and carbon electrodes has been studied. It is shown that the electrochemical reduction of TCAA takes place prior to the massive hydrogen evolution in the potential window for all electrode materials studied. The current efficiency is high (>18%) compared with those normally reported in the literature, and the fractional conversion is above 50% for all the electrodes studied. Only dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and chloride anions were routinely detected as reduction products for any of the electrodes, and reasonable values of mass balance error were obtained. Of the three materials studied, the titanium cathode gave the best results. Keywords: trichloroacetic acidtitaniumglassy carbonstainless steeldegradationtreatmentchlorinated compounds Acknowledgements J. G.-G. and M. D. E. thank Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo. The authors thank Generalitat Valenciana for its financial support under projects AORG09/051 and ACOMP09/128. J. G.-G. also thanks Generalitat Valenciana for its financial support under grant FPA/2009/024. We are also grateful to the SS.TT.II. of the University of Alicante. Finally, the authors thank Dr. Mary Thompson for her help with the English edition of the manuscript. Additional informationNotes on contributorsJosé González-García Deceased