Electrochemical behavior of hexahydrofarnesol: A contaminant of aviation biokerosene

Abstract

Hexahydrofarnesol is the main contaminant of the aviation biokerosene and its determination is of great interest to the aviation industry. In this work, the electrochemical behavior of this contaminant was investigated for the first time. The results showed that the electrooxidation of hexahydrofarnesol is controlled by diffusion and occurs irreversibly at 1.65 V vs. Ag/AgCl (3.0 mol L−1 KCl); this process involves the adsorption of the oxidation product on the electrode surface. The parameters involved in the electrooxidation process of hexahydrofarnesol, such as electron transfer coefficient (α), number of electrons (n), diffusion coefficient (D0), standard potential (E0), heterogeneous rate constant (k0), activation energy (Ea), activation enthalpy (ΔH#), activation entropy (ΔS#), and activation free energy (ΔG#) were all determined for a better understanding of the process. The peak currents obtained by cyclic voltammetry varied linearly as a function of the hexahydrofarnesol concentration, indicating that an electroanalytical method can be developed for the determination of this molecule in aviation biokerosene.