The electrochemical oxidation of aqueous sulfur dioxide: A critical review of work with respect to the hybrid sulfur cycle

Literature regarding the mechanism of the electrochemical oxidation of aqueous sulfur dioxide to sulfuric acid has been critically evaluated to provide a detailed understanding of the reaction under various applied conditions. This reaction is of high relevance to the hybrid sulfur cycle for large scale hydrogen production, as well as other industrial applications such as flue gas desulfurisation. Widespread disagreement in the literature and non-reproducible behaviour of the electrochemical oxidation reaction has been found in this review to often be a result of poorly defined electrode preconditioning procedures. It has also been found that the mechanistic pathway of the oxidation reaction is heavily influenced by the electrode material, solution pH and the applied anodic potential. These factors are thought to influence adsorption and the reductive formation of sulfur species at low potentials.