Glucose oxidation at ruthenium dioxide based electrodes

The oxidation of glucose at RuO2–carbon paste composite electrodes in alkaline solution was examined. It is proposed that the catalytically active species are surface-bound oxyruthenium groups, and that the latter mediate substrate oxidation via a process of cyclic heterogeneous redox catalysis. The latter process can be described in terms of a Michaelis–Menten mechanism involving the formation of a substrate–catalyst complex which subsequently decomposes to form product and pre-catalyst; the latter can subsequently be regenerated electrochemically. Hence the oxyruthenium surface groups operate as inorganic enzyme analogues.