Fabrication of Ti/SnOx/MnO2 anodes with enhanced catalytic performance for oxygen evolution reactions
(School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)
Abstract: This work is devoted to the development of a low cost dimensionally stable anode with high oxygen evolution catalytic activity for practical applications. For this purpose, a Ti/SnOx/MnO2 anode was fabricated through an innovative strategy involving Sn electrodeposition, oxidation, and MnO2-layer preparation. The structure of the anode was characterized, and the oxygen evolution performance was evaluated in a H2SO4 solution. The results show that compared with the Ti/SnO2/MnO2 anode prepared by the conventional brushing-annealing process, the Ti/SnOx/MnO2 anode fabricated through the innovative procedure exhibits a lower oxygen evolution potential and a nearly 40% longer accelerated lifespan. The superior oxygen evolution performance of the Ti/SnOx/MnO2 anode is attributed to the distinctive SnOx intermediate layer fabricated through Sn electrodeposition followed by oxidation, which indicates the great potential of the anode as a dimensionally stable anode for metal electrowinning and hydrogen production by electrolysis, etc.
Key words: dimensionally stable anode; oxygen evolution catalytic performance; SnO2 intermediate layer; MnO2 catalyst