Electrocatalytic hydrogenation using precious metal microparticles in redox-active polymer films

Glassy carbon felt electrodes have been modified by electrodeposition of poly(pyrrole-viologen) films (derived from N,N{prime}-dialkyl-4,4{prime}-bipyridinium salts), followed by electroprecipitation of precious metal (Pt, Pd, Rh, or Ru) microparticles. The resulting electrodes have been proved to be active for the electrocatalytic hydrogenation of conjugated enones (2-cyclohexen-1-one, cryptone, carvone, isophorone), styrene, and benzonitrile in aqueous media (pH 1). Despite low loadings of metal catalysts, high electric and products yields and a long term stability of these cathodes have been observed. The influence of the metal loading and the polymer structure on the catalytic efficiency as well as the selectivity obtained according to the metal catalyst used have been studied. Comparison with results previously reported for other catalytic cathodes like Pt/Pt, Pd/C, or Raney nickel electrodes proves the high efficiency of these metal microparticles within redox polymer film based electrodes.