Síntese, caracterização e propriedades eletroquímicas do óxido misto sílica/óxido de cério

Abstract

This dissertation presents the synthesis and characterization of silica-cerium oxide mixed oxide obtained by the sol-gel process, its application in the electrooxidation of nitrite and the optimization of the electrochemical properties of methylene blue immobilized on the material surface. The proposed procedure allowed to obtain an amorphous solid, porous and with specific surface area equal to 459 m2.g-1, containing 5% cerium (in mol, nominal). To characterize the obtained material was used infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy, specific surface area, x-ray diffraction, 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. These results indicated that cerium is dispersed throughout the silica matrix due the formation of chemical Si - O - Ce bonds and the presence of cerium in the oxidation states +3 and +4. Cyclic voltammetric studies using carbon paste electrodes containing the mixed oxide favoured the oxidation reaction of sodium nitrite in 0.76 V vs SCE. The catalytic effect can be attributed to the Ce+3/Ce+4 couple, which suggests the potential use of this material as a sensor for that analyte. Through an ion exchange reaction, methylene blue was immobilized on the surface of the material SiCe and also used in the preparation of a carbon paste electrodes. The electrochemical properties of the electrode containing methylene blue - potential separation of anodic/cathodic peak and a current ratio - were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and optimized employing a full factorial design 2 elevado a terceira potencia