An investigation of the ozone activity and selectivity of Ni/Sb-SnO b2 s anodes in aqueous acid electrolyte

PhD ThesisOzone is finding increasingly wider application across a range of industries, from semiconductor manufacture to water treatment. In principle, electrochemical ozone generation is capable of producing very high concentrations of ozone both in the gas phase and directly into solution, in contrast to Cold Corona Discharge, the present, most generally applied ozone technology. The aim of the work described in this thesis was to develop highly active and selective anodes for the generation of ozone based on Ni and Sb-doped SnO: Ni/Sb-SnO. 22 Each step of the synthesis of Ni/Sb-SnO-coated Ti mesh anodes was investigated in 2 detail and the electrodes so produced characterized by SEM and EDX, and their activity and selectivity determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy. Anodes with ozone current efficiencies of up to 50% in aqueous acidic electrolyte were developed, and efficiencies of ca. 30-40% were calculated routinely. However, such impressive efficiencies were derived only when operating the electrochemical cells in single pass mode. When the ozonated electrolyte was injected into the inlet of the electrochemical cell in order to generate gas phase ozone, efficiencies