Preparation and characterisation of Ti/RuO2 anodes obtained by sol–gel and conventional routes

Abstract The preparation and characterisation of Ti/RuO 2 anodes and RuO 2 powders obtained by the thermal decomposition of RuCl 3 using isopropanol solution method (ISM) and the polymeric precursor method (PPM) is described. The materials were investigated by SEM and XRD attempting to correlate its morphological and microstructural properties with electrochemical features of the electrodes. SEM micrographies show that the electrode coatings obtained by PPM are rougher than those prepared by ISM. XRD analyses show that the crystallite sizes of the materials obtained by PPM are smaller than those from ISM. It was also observed that RuO 2 powders obtained by ISM show an expansion in the unit cell. The electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and accelerated stability tests for the oxygen evolving reaction in acid medium. Higher voltammetric charge and stability were observed for the electrodes prepared by PPM. Microstructural, morphological and electrochemical features were correlated to the methods of preparation.