Fabrication and characterization of titanium-based lead dioxide electrode by electrochemical deposition with Ti4 O7 particles.

Abstract

A novelly modified Ti/PbO2 electrode was synthesized with Ti4 O7 particles through electrochemical deposition method (marked as PbO2 -Ti4 O7 ). The properties of the as-prepared electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), hydroxyl radical concentration, accelerated life test, etc. Azophloxine was chosen as the model pollutant for electro-catalytic oxidation to evaluate electrochemical activity of the electrode. The experimental results indicated that Ti4 O7 modification could prominently improve the properties of the electrodes, especially, improve the surface morphology, enhance the current response, and reduce the impedance. However, the predominant phases of PbO2 electrodes were unchanged, which were completely pure β-PbO2 . During the electrochemical oxidation process, the PbO2 -Ti4 O7 (1.0) electrode showed the best performance on degradation of AR1 (i.e., the highest removal efficiency and the lowest energy consumption), which could be attributed to its high oxygen evolution potential (OEP) and strong capability of HO· generation. Moreover, the accelerated service lifetime of PbO2 -Ti4 O7 (1.0) electrode was 175hr, 1.65 times longer than that of PbO2 electrode (105.5hr). PRACTITIONER POINTS: PbO2 /Ti4 O7 composite anode was fabricated through electrochemical co-deposition. Four concentration gradients of Ti4 O7 particle were tested. PbO2 -Ti4 O7 (1.0) showed optimal electrocatalytic ability due to its high OEP and HO· productivity.