Removal of arsenite by coupled electrocatalytic oxidation at polymer ruthenium oxide nanocomposite and polymer-assisted liquid phase retention

JUAN FRANCISCO RIVERA, CHRISTOPHE BUCHER, ERIC SAINT-AMAN, BERNABÉ L. RIVAS, MARÍA DEL CARMEN AGUIRRE, JULIO SANCHEZ, ISABELLE PIGNOT-PAINTRAND, JEAN-CLAUDE MOUTET

APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2013 vol. 129 p. 130 - 136

0926-3373

Nanocomposite materials synthesized by incorporation of ruthenium oxide nanoparticles into a poly(pyrrole-alkylammonium) matrix have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy and by electrochemistry. Ruthenium oxide-based nanocomposites films coated onto carbon appeared efficient electrocatalysts for the oxidation of arsenic(III) into arsenic(V) species at a remarkable low potential, i.e. in the 0.3?0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl range. Bulk electrocatalytic oxidation of arsenite solutions could be performed in the presence of a water-soluble poly(quaternary ammonium) salts acting as the supporting electrolyte and also as an As(V) complexing agent, which allowed to combine electrocatalytic oxidation of As(III) with the liquid phase polymer-assisted retention (LPR) technique to efficiently remove arsenic from polluted solutions.