Electrocatalytic reduction of molecular oxygen at poly(1,8- diaminonaphthalene) and poly(Co(II)-(1,8-diaminonaphthalene)) coated electrodes

Abstract

The application of poly(Co(II)-(1,8-diaminonaphthalene))(poly(Co-DAN)) and poly(1,8-diaminonaphthalene) (Poly(1,8-DAN)) to the electrocatalytic reduction of molecular oxygen was investigated, which were electrochemically grown by the potential cycling method on the glassy carbon electrodes. The reduction of oxygen at the polymer and its metal complex polymer coated electrodes were irreversible and diffusion controlled. The Poly(1,8-DAN) and Poly(Co-DAN) films revealed the potential shifts for the oxygen reduction to 30 mV and 110 mV, respectively, in an aqueous solution, compared with that of the bare electrode. Hydrodynamic voltammetry with a rotating ring-disk electrode showed that Poly(1,8-DAN) and Poly(Co-DAN) coated electrodes converted respectively 84% and 22% of O2 to H2O via a four electron reduction pathway.