Preparation and Photoelectrochemical Property of PbO2-TiO2 Nanocomposite Electrodes

Abstract

PbO2-TiO2 nanocomposite electrodes were prepared by the electrodeposition method in the lead nitrate solution containing TiO2 nanoparticles. The influences of TiO2 concentration, current density and stirring rate on the weight percentage (wt%) of TiO2 nanoparticles in the PbO2-TiO2 nanocomposite electrodes were investigated. TiO2 content in the PbO2-TiO2 nanocomposite electrodes reaches 8.79 wt% from lead nitrate solution containing 8 g L−1 TiO2 nanoparticles with current density at 30 mA cm−2 and stirring rate at 120 rpm. The morphology and structure of PbO2-TiO2 nanocomposite electrodes were characterized by scanning electrons microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). PbO2-TiO2 nanocomposite electrodes are finer and more compact than PbO2 electrodes. The service life of PbO2-TiO2 nanocomposite electrodes reaches 149 h, which is four times longer than that of PbO2 electrodes. The photoelectrochemical property of PbO2-TiO2 nanocomposite electrodes was investigated by linear sweep voltammogram (LSV), photocurrent response (PCR) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) under UV irradiation. The results show that PbO2-TiO2 nanocomposite electrodes possess remarkable photocurrent response under UV irradiation. The MB and COD removal efficiency reaches 98.5% and 70.7% by photoelectrocatalytic degradation after 120 min, the degradation process follow the first-order reaction kinetics. The results demonstrate that PbO2-TiO2 nanocomposite electrodes are promising photoelectrocatalytic anode materials.