Electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination of clofibric acid (CA) using Pd/Ni foam electrodes: The effects of Ni(OH)2 and complexing agents on electrode preparation

In the present study, Pd/Ni foam electrode was prepared by improved impregnation method for electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination (ECH) of clofibric acid (CA). The effects of complexing agent addition into the impregnation solution for the formation of Ni(OH) 2 and the ECH activity of Pd/Ni foam electrode were investigated. Results revealed that the introduction of sodium acetate (the complexing agent) greatly enhanced the ECH activity as compared to common impregnation liquid. Characterizations analyses demonstrated that the addition of sodium acetate did not change the phase of the electrode’s surface, but effectively reduced the deposition of Ni(OH) 2 . The surface morphology of the electrode was changed simultaneously by the addition of sodium acetate and the interlacing structure of Ni(OH) 2 and Pd catalyst was formed. NaAc before -Pd/Ni and NaAc after -Pd/Ni foam electrodes were used to perform ECH experiments on CA, and the combined Pd/Ni foam 15 min electrode was compared with the Pd/Ni foam 6 h electrode. After 2 h of electrolysis, the NaAc after -Pd/Ni foam electrode was found to remove the CA (∼100%) in the solution, which was 1.3 times the removal rate of the Pd/Ni foam 6 h electrode to CA and exceeded the Pd/Ni foam 15 min electrode. Findings from the present study demonstrated that adding the complexing agent into the impregnation solution can improve the ECH activity of Pd/Ni foam electrode and achieve a faster and more efficient dechlorination effect of CA.