Hydrodehalogenation reduction on silver-based electrode materials: nanocatalyst and pretreated carbon support study

In the past years the remarkable electrocatalytic activity of silver has been well documented [ ]. In particular, the electrochemical dehalogenation of halogenated organic compounds, using Ag-based cathode materials represents a detoxification process of great interest [ ] considering the impact of these molecules on the environment. In this context, the present contribution discusses the advantages of nanostructured Ag-particles for the preparations of electrode materials: there is evidence that nanostructured particles exhibit higher intrinsic activity than massive silver, thus leading to the possibility of preparing a composite materials with a low silver content. The use of Ag-particles, prepared by different synthetic routes, is presented and discussed in relation with their electrochemical and physico-chemical features. Moreover, we highlighted the important role played by the carbon support for Ag-nanoparticles in terms of stability, durability and electrocatalytic activity of the composite powder. In particular, we evaluated the effect of an oxidative pretreatment of the carbon matrix to increase the number of surface oxo-groups. The electrochemical behavior of both the mere and the pretreated carbon, with the relevant possible synergistic effects on composite materials, are analyzed and discussed.