Electrochemical oxidation of ethylene glycol has been studied in a channel flow reactor (CFR) on high surface area platinum at three different flow rates and varying potentials. Sampled current potential obtained from chronoamperometry experiments agrees well with the voltammetry data reported in the literature. The current at any potential was observed to be a weak function of the flow rate. The products of the oxidation reaction have been identified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In addition to all the usual C2 fractions (glycolaldehyde, glycolic acid, glyoxylic acid, glyoxal and oxalic acid) already reported, an important C1 fraction (formic acid) has been observed in significant quantities at low flow rates. The results of this study suggest cleavage of CC bond, though the exact pathway remains unclear. Further, distinct changes in the product profile (amount of different C1 and C2 fractions) were observed with flow rate. Glycolic acid was the only product that was observed in significant quantities at all flow rates. The results suggest interplay of contact time of the reactants with the thin film catalyst, kinetics and reaction pathway and demonstrate the usefulness of a channel flow reactor.

已经在通道流动反应器（CFR）中以三种不同的流速和不同的电势在高表面积铂上研究了乙二醇的电化学氧化。从计时电流法实验获得的采样电势与文献中报道的伏安法数据非常吻合。观察到在任何电位下的电流都是流速的弱函数。氧化反应的产物已使用高效液相色谱法（HPLC）进行了鉴定。除了已经报道的所有常用的C2馏分（乙醇醛，乙醇酸，乙醛酸，乙二醛和草酸）外，还发现了重要的C1馏分（甲酸），且流速很低。这项研究的结果表明C的裂解C键，尽管确切途径尚不清楚。此外，随着流速观察到产物概况的明显变化（不同的C1和C2馏分的量）。乙醇酸是在所有流速下均观察到大量的唯一产物。结果表明反应物与薄膜催化剂的接触时间，动力学和反应路径之间的相互作用，并证明了通道流动反应器的有用性。