Determination of ruthenium in ruthenium-titanium oxide anodes

Ruthenium-titanium oxide anodes (RTOA) are being widely used in electrochemical technology. The uniformity of distribution, the form in which it is present, and the total ruthenium content have a significant influence on the catalytical properties of RTOA; the development of suitable analytical methods represents therefore an important task. However, the use of nondestructive methods is difficult in the present case, due to the above-mentioned peculiar structure of the RTOA coating and due to the fact that standard specimens of such coatings are not available. Evidently, the analysis of the coating after dissolution of the individual phases or of the whole coating represents a promising approach. In this work they have proposed procedures for the dissolution of RTOA with the aim to determine their ruthenium content. X-ray microprobe analysis (XRMA) and secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) were used to check the uniformity of distribution of ruthenium and titanium in the oxide layer of RTOA.