Studies on the preparation of high efficient Ti/PbO₂ electrode and degradation of acid red G

A novel Ti/PbO₂ electrode was synthesized through electro-codeposition technology by using dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DTAC) as an additive. Its characteristics were examined by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and accelerated life test etc. Electro-catalytic oxidation experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of DTAC on the electorde's electrochemical activity. Acid red G (ARG, C₁₈H₁₃N₃Na₂O₈S₂, CAS number: 3734-67-6) was chosen as the model contaminant due to its extensive industrial usage. After DTAC modification, the predominant phase of the electrode was still pure β-PbO₂. However, DTAC could refine the electrode surface leading to a high electrode specific surface area and oxygen evolution potential (OEP, 1.886V) and a low electrode film impedance (55.7 Ω/cm²). The ARG electrocatalytic degradation and accelerated life tests revealed that the electrocatalytic ability and stability of the modified electrode were much higher compared to that of PbO₂electrode. Among these novel electrodes, the PbO₂-DTAC (0.5) exhibited the highest electrocatalytic ability for ARG degradation with a decolorization percentage of 86.8% within 60 min. Moreover, its stability was the highest with a long accelerated service life of 232.5 h, which was more than 2 times longer than that of PbO₂ electrode (96 h).