Preparation of ruthenium electrode materials and their application to the bactericidal properties of acidic electrolyzed oxidizing water†

Abstract

The anode chlorine evolution electrode materials used for producing acidic electrolyzed oxidizing water (AEOW) typically requires platinum, iridium, ruthenium, and other expensive and non-renewable precious metals. This not only results in high production costs but also hinders the development of the industry. To reduce the economic cost of the electrode and obtain better chlorine evolution anode materials, the effects of ruthenium electrode materials doped with different elements, ruthenium–tin doping ratio, and electrolytic process parameters on the AEOW physicochemical parameter of the electrode production were studied. The findings indicated that the novel SnO₂/RuO₂ electrode exhibited better catalytic performance, especially the electrode with a 1 : 3 ruthenium–tin doping ratio (SnO₂/RuO₂-3), the active chlorine content (ACC) was 123 mg L⁻¹, and the oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) was 1381 mV, exhibiting higher ACC and ORP values. In addition, when the current density was 50 mA cm⁻², the chlorine evolution reaction potential of the SnO₂/RuO₂-3 electrode decreased to 55 mV, the oxygen evolution reaction potential increased to 155 mV, and the difference in potential between the CER and OER enhanced to 446 mV relative to the RuO₂ electrode. The CER selectivity of the SnO₂/RuO₂ electrode was significantly improved, which was approximately twice that of the RuO₂ electrode. Furthermore, the effects of electrolysis voltage, time, and concentration on AEOW were investigated. AEOW with an ACC content of 120 mg L⁻¹ killed more than 99.9% of Escherichia coli within 60 seconds.