A novel and effective strategy for electro-oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde

For taking full advantages of electrochemical synthesis and high selectivity of peroxydisulfate for oxidation of alcohol to aldehyde, the electrocatalyst Ti-TiNxO2 (- x)-Pt and electrolysis-separation device were constructed. The synergetic effect between the Ti-TiNxO2 (- x)-Pt with the suitable catalytic performance for electro-oxidation of HSO4- to peroxydisulfate and the electrolysis-separation device with the rapid separation of the acetaldehyde from the reaction system dramatically enhances the catalytic performance of Ti-TiNxO2 (- x)-Pt for the indirect electro-oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde. The current efficiency for generation of acetaldehyde reaches 88.9%, higher than those reported in the literature. This method also possesses easy operation, high stability and recycling functionality. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.