Kinetic and Mechanistic Studies of Catechol at the Platinum Electrode in Acidic Solution Using Convolution-Deconvolution Cyclic Voltammetry and Digital Simulation

The electrochemistry of catechol (CC) was examined in HClO4 using cyclic voltammetry, convolution-deconvolution voltammetry, and digital simulation methods at polycrystalline platinum electrode. Cyclic voltammogram of catechol exhibited one anodic peak and one cathodic peak observed at less positive potential far enough to imply that the electrochemical behavior of CC is not a simple reversible mechanism. Two possible mechanisms were proposed for the electro-oxidation of catechol: an electron transfer followed by a dimerization (ECdim), or an electron transfer followed by a chemical reaction followed by another electron transfer followed by another chemical reaction (ECEC). Digital simulation study excluded the mechanism of an electron transfer followed by a chemical reaction followed by another electron transfer (ECE) as a possible mechanism. The kinetic parameters and the proposed electrode reactions were assessed by convolution-deconvolution voltammetry and digital simulation.