Regularities of photoelectrochemical oxidation of glycerol using electrophoretically deposited TiO2 coatings on steel

The aim of this work was to study glycerol photoelectrochemical oxidation by using electrophoretically deposited nanosized TiO 2 coatings on AISI 304 type stainless steel. The structure and morphology of the prepared coatings were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has been determined that the coatings contain 73 % of anatase and 27 % of rutile. The average crystallite size was calculated to be 21 and 54 nm for anatase and rutile, respectively. The photoelectrochemical behaviour of TiO 2 coatings was investigated by photovoltammetry. The n-type TiO 2 coatings were found to generate the photocurrents which are greatly enhanced by the presence of glycerol in 0.1 M Na 2 SO 4 aqueous electrolyte. An increase in glycerol concentration causes a decrease in the photocurrent. The presence of pure glycerol results in higher photocurrents as compared with the technical glycerol. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ct.62.4.3228