Electrochemical Oxidation of Amoxicillin in Its Commercial Formulation on Thermally Prepared RuO₂/Ti

Abstract

In this work, a ruthenium dioxide electrode has been prepared by thermal decomposition at 400 o C then used for the oxidation of commercial amoxicillin. The physical characterization showed that RuO 2 electrode presents a mud cracked structure. Its electrochemical characterization has revealed an increase of the voltammetric charge in acid electrolyte compared to neutral electrolyte indicating the importance of protons in its surface redox processes. The voltammetric study of the oxidation of amoxicillin has been investigated. It has been obtained that the oxidation of amoxicillin is controlled by both adsorption and diffusion processes. Moreover, the oxidation of amoxicillin occurs via direct and indirect processes in free or electrolyte containing chlorides. Through preparative electrolysis, enhancement of amoxicillin oxidation was observed in the presence of chloride where the amoxicillin degradation yield reached more than 50 % compared to less than 5 % in the absence of chlorides. Spectrophotometric investigations have revealed the degradation of intermediates absorbing at 350 nm.