STUDY OF THE KINETICS AND MECHANISM OF ANODIC OXIDATION OF CARBONACEOUS FUELS.

Abstract

A detailed investigation of the oxidation of formaldehyde was carried out to account for the fact that formaldehyde oxidation on Group VIII metals, e. g. platinum, occurs without simultaneous hydrogen generation while on Group IB metals, e. g. copper, formaldehyde oxidation is accompanied by hydrogen evolution. It was found that in principle metals may be divided into three main classes: (a) metals with positive free energy of hydrogen adsorption, (b) metals with free energy of hydrogen adsorption close to zero, and (c) metals with negative free energy of hydrogen adsorption. In the case of class (a) metals formaldehyde oxidation is accompanied by hydrogen evolution, for class (b) metals there is no simultaneous hydrogen evolution and class (c) metals show low catalytic activity for formaldehyde oxidation.