Enhancing the electrochemical activity and stability of Sb-SnO2 based electrodes by the introduction of nickel oxide

Abstract

Antimony doped tin(IV) oxide (Sb-SnO2) based electrodes are attractive candidates due to their high electrochemical activity but remain a grand challenge for stability. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop approaches available for stabilizing electrode materials against deactivation during electrochemical oxidation process (EOP). Here we report a viable approach to extend the electrode lifetime without sacrificing its electrochemical activity. Electrochemical measurements showed that the introduction of NiO results in an increased voltammetric charge (q*) and excellent electrochemical activity towards methylene blue (MB) oxidation. TiO2-NiO@Sb-SnO2 electrode exhibited an improved electrochemical stability in comparison with TiO2@Sb-SnO2 counterpart. These merits coupled with high oxygen evolution potential (OEP) provide a foundation for a toolkit to design new electrodes with high electrochemical activity and stability.