Preparation and properties of Sb-doped SnO2/metal substrates by sol–gel and dip coating

Antimony-doped SnO2 on metallic substrate is a useful electrode for electrochemical water treatment system. The Sb-doped SnO2 films on aluminum and stainless steels, which are relatively workable or available metals, were prepared by the sol–gel technique and dip coating method. The precursor metal alkoxide/alcohol solutions were derived from SnCl4 and SbCl3. Ammonia/alcohol solution was used for the synthesis and Cl− was eliminated by the precipitation of NH4Cl. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the SnO2 film annealed at 400 °C could be assigned to SnO2. The Sb-SnO2 film consisted of fine particles from 10 to 20 nm. In the electrolysis, Sb-SnO2/stainless steel electrodes showed an exfoliation but Sb-SnO2/aluminium did not. Our results indicate that SnO2/Al can be promising as a SnO2 electrode for electrochemical water treatment.