Electrooxidation of phenol on different organo bentonite-based electrodes

Bentonite was modified by the exchange of inorganic cations with hexadecyl trimethylammonium, dodecyl trimethylammonium or tetramethylammonium cation. The obtained materials were characterized by physisorption of nitrogen and X-ray diffraction analysis. Multisweep cyclic voltammetry was applied to analyze phenol response on different organo bentonite-based electrodes. The aim of the investigation was to determine the influence of the type of modifying agent on the electrochemical performance of the investigated electrodes. All electrodes exhibited similar electrochemical behavior but with different intensities of the electrochemical response and Tafel slopes. The difference in Tafel slopes reflected different level of involvement of pores in the phenol electrooxidation. ►Organo bentonites were used as the electrode materials for phenol oxidation. ►The length of surfactant chain influenced the electrochemical response of phenol. ►Different Tafel slopes indicated different types of adsorption.