Facile synthesis of highly active Ti/Sb-SnO2 electrode by sol-gel spinning technique for landfill leachate treatment

Highly active Ti/Sb–SnO2 electrodes were fabricated using sol-gel spin coating procedure, which exhibited a rough, uniform and multilayer coating structure. The effects of different Sb-SnO2 film layers on the physiochemical, electrochemical properties and pollutant degradability of electrodes and the mechanism were evaluated on a systematic basis. The electrodes with more active layers exhibited higher electro-catalytic performance. Upon exceeding 8 layers, the promotion effect of the coating was reduced. Considering various factors, this paper recommends preparing Ti/Sb–SnO2 electrodes coated with 8 layers to obtain higher electro-catalytic ability in landfill leachate treatment. The specific number of coating layers should be determined according to the electrode requirements. This work provided a theoretical basis and technical support for the preparation of Ti-SnO2 electrodes with high electro-catalytic activity and stability, while it still remains a great challenge to achieve an excellent balance between performance and stability before Ti/Sb-SnO2 electrodes can be implemented on a large scale in wastewater treatment. HIGHLIGHTS Sol-gel spin coating method could be used to exhibit a multilayer coating structure.; Electrodes with more active layers had higher electro-catalytic performance.; Upon exceeding 8 layers, the promotion effect of the coating was reduced.; Ti/Sb-SnO2 electrodes coated with 8 layers could obtain higher electro-catalytic ability during leachate treatment.;