Characterization of doped tin dioxide anodes prepared by a sol-gel technique and their application in an SPE-reactor

Anodes for the electrocatalytic oxidation of organic pollutants in water have been prepared by depositing novel Sb-doped SnO2 material on Ti supports by the sol-gel technique. Surface analysis of the anodes by nuclear microprobe and XPS-measurements confirmed the formation of a doped film on the substrate. Large scale porous titanium electrodes, up to 50 cm(2), have been coated with doped SnO2 for a galvanostatic solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) application, resulting in very low voltage across the stack, even without adding supporting electrolytes to the water. Assessment of the cell performance was carried out using N,N-dimethyl-p-nitrosoaniline (RNO) as a spin trap for . OH-radicals and phenol as a standard organic contaminant. Kinetic studies were done for the formation of the . OH-radicals.