Controllable oxidation of cyclohexanone to produce sodium adipate in an electrochemical reactor with a Pt NPs/Ti membrane electrode

Abstract An electrocatalytic membrane reactor (ECMR) with an anode consisting of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) loaded on a Ti membrane electrode (Pt NPs/Ti) was designed to oxidize cyclohexanone (K) to produce sodium adipate (SA) under mild conditions. The effects of residence time, reaction temperature, current density and initial K concentration on K conversion were investigated. Optimization experiments were conducted to determine the effects of and interactions between different operating parameters on K conversion using a central composite design within the response surface methodology. A 88.3% conversion of K and 99% selectivity to SA were obtained by the ECMR under the optimum conditions of reaction temperature = 30.8 °C, K concentration = 22.54 mmol L −1 , residence time = 25 min and current density = 2.07 mA cm −2 . The high performance of the ECMR is attributed to electrocatalytic oxidation (at the Pt NPs/Ti electrode), convection-enhanced mass transfer, and the timely removal of the desired products.