Boron-doped diamond electrode: Preparation, characterization and application for electrocatalytic degradation of m-dinitrobenzene

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode was successfully prepared via microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition method and it was used in electrocatalytic degradation of m-dinitrobenzene (m-DNB). The electrocatalytic degradation efficiency of m-DNB was evaluated under different experimental parameters including current density, temperature, pH, Na2SO4 concentration and initial m-DNB concentration. Under optimal parameters, degradation efficiency of m-DNB reached up to 82.7% after 150 min. The degradation process of m-DNB was fitted well with pseudo first-order kinetics. Moreover, UV and HPLC analyses implied that m-DNB was totally destroyed and mineralized after 240 min degradation, and the proposed mechanism during the electrocatalytic degradation process was analyzed. All these results demonstrated that BDD electrode possessed excellent electrocatalytic property and showed a great potential application in wastewater treatment. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.