Insights into the electro-oxidation of ethylene glycol at Pt/Ru nanocatalysts supported on MWCNTs: Adsorption-controlled electrode kinetics

Electrocatalytic properties of Pt/Ru nanoparticle-electrodecorated MWCNT platform towards the oxidation of ethylene glycol (EG) have been interrogated using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Both forward and reverse oxidative reactions exhibited distinct electrochemical behaviour following changes in EG concentrations, scan rates and during repetitive cyclic voltammetric scanning. Our results suggest that the overall electro-oxidation reaction of EG is governed mainly by adsorption kinetics, with the electrochemical adsorption equilibrium constant (β) and the free energy change (ΔGo) being 1.47 M−1 and −0.95 kJ mol−1, respectively.