Effect of a Synthesized Pulsed Electrodeposited Ti/PbO₂–RuO₂ Nanocomposite on Zinc Electrowinning

Abstract

Nowadays, there is a growing interest in synthesizing electrodes used in zinc electrowinning, increasing active surface area, decreasing specific energy consumption, and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotential. In this study, modified nanocomposite anodes were synthesized by applying pulsed and constant direct current electrodeposition to improve the catalytic activity of the electrodes toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and reduce energy consumption in zinc electrowinning. By decreasing particle size, the active surface area of PbO2–RuO2 nano-mixed composite electrode was 2.88 and 14.22 times greater than PbO2–RuO2 microcomposite and pure PbO2 electrodes, respectively. Also, the anodic polarization of PbO2–RuO2 microcomposite showed a 0.201 V decrease at 0.01 A cm–2 in the OER overpotential as compared to pure micro PbO2. Among the synthesized anodes, the Ti/PbO2–RuO2 nano-mixed morphology composite anode possessed the lowest overpotential and the least specific energy consumption by 0.705 V at a current density of 0.14 A cm–2 and 2.11 kWh kg–1, respectively.