Electrosynthesis and physicochemical properties of α-PbO2-CeO2-TiO2 composite electrodes

In order to investigate the effect of solid particles dopants on physicochemical properties of α-PbO2 electrodes, α-PbO2 composite electrodes doped with nano-TiO2 and nano-CeO2 particles were respectively prepared on Al/conductive coating electrodes in 4 mol/L NaOH solution with addition of PbO until saturation by anodic codeposition. The electrodeposition mechanism, morphology, composition and structure of the composite electrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammogram (CV), SEM, EDAX and XRD. Results show that the doping solid particles can not change reaction mechanism of α-PbO2 electrode in alkaline or acid plating bath, but can improve deposition rate and reduce oxygen evolution potential. The doping solid particles can inhibit the growth of α-PbO2 unit cell and improve specific surface area. The diffraction peak intensity of α-PbO2-CeO2-TiO2 composite electrode is lower than that of pure α-PbO2 electrode. The electrocatalytic activity of α-PbO2-2.12%CeO2-3.71%TiO2 composite electrode is the best. The Guglielmi model for CeO2 and TiO2 codeposition with α-PbO2 is also proposed.