Electrocatalytic degradation of methylene blue on PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes prepared by pulse electrodeposition

PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes (P) were prepared by pulse electrodeposition and used for the electrocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). The SEM and XRD tests show that PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes (P) possess more compact structure and finer grain size than PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes (D) prepared by direct electrodeposition. The electrochemical measurements show that PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes (P) have higher oxygen evolution overpotential and the oxidation regions of MB and water are significantly separated. The experimental parameters on electrocatalytic degradation of MB by PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes (P) were evaluated, such as initial MB concentration, current density, pH value and supporting electrolyte concentration. The results indicate that MB and COD removal efficiency of PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes (P) reach 100% and 72.7%, respectively, after 120 min electrolysis at initial 30 mg L−1 MB concentration at current density of 50 mA cm−2 in 0.2 mol L−1 Na2SO4 supporting electrolyte solution, and the degradation of MB follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. Compared with PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes (D), PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes (P) show higher COD removal efficiency and instantaneous current efficiency with MB degradation. The experimental results demonstrate that PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes (P) possesses the excellent electrocatalytic properties and show great potential applications in refractory pollutants.