Electroreduction of oxygen in molten NaOH

A study of oxygen electroreduction at a bright platinum electrode has been carried out in molten sodium hydroxide at 350°C. Analysis of potentiostatic and potentiodynamic measurements led to the following results: (1) The electroactive species in oxygen-containing NaOH melts at 350°C is sodium peroxide. (2) A general method of quantitative determination of kinetic and mass transport parameters for certain reactions has been described. (3) The mechanism of oxygen reduction in molten NaOH has been suggested. (4) Kinetic and mass-transport parameters characterizing oxygen reduction in molten NaOH have been calculated. (5) The reaction studied seems to be one of the rare examples of relative invariance of the Tafel slope with temperature.