Application of Titanium Anodes in Water Treatment

Electrochemical methods are highly effective for treating refractory organic substances, transforming non-biodegradable organic compounds into biodegradable ones. Given the generally slow rate of electrochemical conversion of organic materials, various strategies are employed to enhance efficiency: increasing the electrode overpotential, expanding the electrode surface area, selecting superior electrode materials, and improving electrode structures.

In electrochemical reactions, the surface area of electrodes undergoes heterogeneous catalytic reactions due to charge movement, akin to chemical catalysis. In a specific electrolyte, under the same overpotential, the reaction rate and type can vary depending on the electrode substrate material, a phenomenon known in electrochemistry as electrocatalysis. Different electrode materials, acting as electrocatalysts, can induce significant changes in the rate of electrochemical reactions. Therefore, selecting appropriate electrode materials is crucial for improving the efficiency of electrochemical catalytic reactions.

In the Water treatment sector, especially in the electrolysis of water to produce acidic or alkaline ionized water, various strong oxidizing substances like O3, H2O2, and HCLO are present. Given the frequent polarity reversals of the anode, special functional electrodes are required. After years of research, our company has developed long-lasting electrodes suitable for water treatment: titanium metal-coated electrodes. These electrodes feature a coating of platinum-group noble metal oxides on pure titanium substrates, providing high electrocatalytic performance, strong oxidation resistance, and excellent conductivity. These are insoluble anodes with the following characteristics:

1. Lightweight and Strong: Titanium is lightweight, strong, and highly corrosion-resistant, especially against wet chlorine, which is unmatched by other metal materials. For instance, in water electrolysis with trace chlorine ions, stainless steel electrodes quickly suffer pitting, reducing electrode lifespan, a problem not faced by titanium.

2. High Electrocatalytic Performance: The inclusion of multiple platinum-group noble metals in the coating ensures high current efficiency, good conductivity, excellent electrocatalytic performance, strong oxidation resistance, long service life, and energy savings.

3. Good Polarity Reversal Performance: The electrodes perform well in polarity reversal applications.

MMO Titanium Anode are crucial components in water electrolysis machines, directly affecting the overall quality of water treatment systems. The selection of electrodes should be based on their working conditions, and in the water treatment field, metal electrodes must meet the following basic requirements:

1. Good electrical conductivity.
2. Strong corrosion resistance.
3. High mechanical strength and good processing performance.
4. Long service life.
5. Excellent electrocatalytic performance.
   

In electrochemical reactions, multi-component electrodes are also an important area of study. The preparation of a Ti/SnO2·Sb2O3·MnO2/PbO2·MnO2 anode serves as an example of multi-component electrode design. The primary cause of Titanium Anode failure is the diffusion of nascent oxygen from the oxygen evolution reaction to the electrode surface, forming a non-conductive TiO2 film on the titanium surface. To activate the anode, an active layer of PbO2·MnO2 is applied to the electrode surface; to reduce the diffusion of nascent oxygen to the titanium surface, an intermediate layer of SnO2·Sb2O3·MnO2 is added between the titanium substrate and the active layer. This anode demonstrates high electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability in treating phenolic wastewater.