The Use of Ni/Sb-SnO2-based Membrane Electrode Assembly for Electrochemical Generation of Ozone and the Decolourisation of Reactive Blue 50 Dye Solutions

Electrochemical ozone generation with ozone current efficiencies up to 33% and power consumption as low as 25 kWh kg−1 O3 at room temperature using Ni/Sb-SnO2 anodes in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) based cell with platinised titanium cathodes separated by Nafion membrane is reported. The complete decolourisation of 200 cm3 of 1000 mg dm−3 Reactive Blue 50 (RB50) dye within 8 minutes at 2.7 V with 100% current efficiency for the first 5 minutes and specific power consumption as low as ca. 8 kWh kgCOD−1 using the MEA-based cell is also described. The byproducts of the dye oxidation were investigated and the formation of various organic acids confirmed.