Calcination effect of nanosized ceria in ceria–platinum composite electrode for direct ethylene glycol oxidation

CeO2 nonsoluble in H2SO4 has been prepared using thermal decomposition techniques and has been characterized by X-ray. The particle size was found to increase as the calcination temperature increases. Nano crystalline Pt/CeO2/GC composite electrodes were fabricated and examined using SEM, EDX analysis and electrochemical techniques. The reactivity of the modified electrode has been tested for ethylene glycol (EG) oxidation in acidic media using cyclic voltammetric and chronoamperometric technique. The Pt/CeO2/GC electrodes were found to be more reactive towards EG oxidation and more stable against poisoning process in comparison to Pt/GC electrode. The performance of the electrodes was found to depend on the ratio of CeO2:Pt as well as on the calcination temperature during CeO2 preparation.

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► CeO2 insoluble in acidic media has been prepared using thermal decomposition technique.
► Oxide particle size was found to increase with the calcination temperature.
► At optimum conditions, Pt/CeO2/GC electrode shows superior performance for EG oxidation compared to Pt/GC electrode.
► The activity of the modified electrode depends on calcination temperature as well as CeO2:Pt ratio.