Electrocatalytic oxidation of gaseous toluene in an all-solid cell using a foam Ti/Sb-SnO2/β-PbO2 anode

Mineralization of benzene,toluene,and xylene (BTX) with high efficiency at room temperature is still a challenge for the purification of indoor air.In this work,a foam Ti/Sb-Sn O2/β-Pb O2anode catalyst was prepared for electrocatalytically oxidizing gaseous toluene in an all-solid cell at ambient temperature.The complex Ti/Sb-Sn O2/β-Pb O2anode,which was prepared by sequentially deposing Sb-Sn O2and β-Pb O2on a foam Ti substrate,shows high electrocatalytic oxidation efficiency of toluene (80%) at 7 hr of reaction and high CO2selectivity (94.9%) under an optimized condition,i.e.,a cell voltage of 2.0 V,relative humidity of60%and a flow rate of 100 m L/min.The better catalytic performance can be ascribed to the high production rate of·OH radicals from discharging adsorbed water and the inhibition of oxygen evolution on the surface of foam Ti/Sb-Sn O2/β-Pb O2anode when compared with the foam Ti/Sb-Sn O2anode.Our results demonstrate that prepared complex electrodes can be potentially used for electrocatalytic removal of gaseous toluene at room temperature with a good performance.