Comparison of the electrooxidation performance of three-dimensional RVC/PbO2 and boron-doped diamond electrodes

•Electrooxidation of glyphosate and phenol using RVC/PbO2 anode.•Electrooxidation performance of BDD and RVC/PbO2 were compared.•3D anode provided high specific surface area and enhanced mass transfer.•Similar electrooxidation performances were achieved using BDD and RVC/PbO2

Although studies reported in the literature have described the electrooxidation of organic compounds using flat PbO2 and boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes, the use of three-dimensional anodes for this purpose is very scarce. As far as we know, there have been no comparisons of the electrooxidation performance of 3D anodes and BDD electrodes. In this work, we demonstrated that outstanding oxidation kinetics, current efficiency, and energy consumption were obtained when a flat plate PbO2 electrode was replaced by a three-dimensional RVC/PbO2 anode. The synergic effects of greater surface area and enhanced mass transfer resulted in electrooxidation of glyphosate and phenol comparable to that obtained with a boron-doped diamond electrode, in terms of reaction rate, current efficiency, and energy consumption. These results showed that the 3D anode could be employed as an inexpensive option for the degradation of organic compounds.

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