Corrosion-resistant anodes, devices including the anodes, and methods of using the anodes
View Patent ↗Embodiments of the present disclosure include an anode, devices and systems including the anode (e.g., electrochemical devices and photo-electrochemical devices), methods of using the anode, methods of producing H 2 and O 2 from H 2 O, Cl 2 , oxidixed organic feedstocks, oxidation for the detection and quantification of chemical species, and the like.
1. An anode comprising:
a catalyst layer, a corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, and a conductive base anode, wherein the oxidation-resistant barrier layer is disposed on the conductive base anode and the catalyst layer is disposed on the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is disposed between the catalyst layer and the conductive base anode, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is a pin-hole-free layer, and wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is less than 10 nm thick.
2. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the interfacial areal resistance of the corrosion-resistant barrier layer is less than 10 ohms cm 2 or the interfacial areal conductivity of the corrosion-resistant barrier layer is greater than 0.1 siemens per cm 2 .
3. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst layer is about 1-10 nm thick and the barrier layer is about 1-10 nm thick.
4. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst layer is a material selected from the group consisting of: TiO 2 , IrO 2 , RuO 2 , SnO 2 , CoO x , MnO x , Ir, Ru, and a combination thereof, where x is between 0.5 and 2.
5. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is a material selected from the group consisting of: TiO 2 , MnO x , SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , Si 3 N 4 , and a combination thereof.
6. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst layer has a substantially uniform thickness.
7. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst layer has a uniform thickness.
8. The anode of claim 7 , wherein the structure underlying or supporting the anode mechanically is an insulating substrate.
9. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base anode is a conductive film having a thickness of about 50 nm to 50 μm.
10. The anode of claim 9 , wherein the conductive thin film base anode is disposed on a substrate of a different material.
11. The anode of claim 9 , wherein the structure underlying or supporting the anode mechanically is a conductive substrate.
12. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base anode is a bulk single crystal or a polycrystalline material.
13. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base anode is made of a material selected from the group consisting of: Si, Ge, GaAs, GaP, InP, AlP, CdS, CdSe, and a combination thereof.
14. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base anode is made of a material selected from the group consisting of: Ti, Al, TiN, Ir, Pd, Pt, Ni, Ru, Ta, oxides of Ir, Pd, Pt, Ni, metal silicides, metal germanides, and a combination thereof.
15. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base anode is made of a semiconductor material.
16. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base anode is made of a metallic conductive material.
17. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base anode has a porous structure.
18. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base anode has pore channels having a length:diameter aspect ratio of about 2:1 to 20000:1.
19. The anode of claim 1 , wherein the conductive base anode has a layer of metallic conducting or doped semiconducting nanowires, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is disposed on the nanowires.
20. The anode of claim 19 , wherein the catalyst layer is conformally coated on the nanowires.
21. The anode of claim 19 , wherein the layer of nanowires has an areal density of about 0.1 to 5000 wires per μm 2 .
22. The anode of claim 19 , wherein the nanowire has a diameter of about 10 nm to 1 μm and a height (length) of about 100 nm to 100 μm.
23. The anode of claim 19 , wherein the layer of conductive nanowires is made of the same material as the conductive substrate.
24. The anode of claim 19 , wherein the layer of conductive nanowires is made of a different material as the conductive substrate.
25. An anode comprising:
an oxidation-resistant catalyst layer disposed on a conductive base anode, and wherein the corrosion-inhibiting catalyst layer is a pin-hole-free layer, wherein the catalyst layer is a material selected from the group consisting of: TiO 2 , IrO 2 , RuO 2 , SnO 2 m CoO x , MnO x , Ir, Ru, and a combination thereof, where x is between 0.5 and 2 wherein the catalyst layer is about 1-10 nm thick, and wherein the catalyst layer has a substantially uniform thickness.
26. The anode of claim 25 , wherein the catalyst layer has a uniform thickness.
27. The anode of claim 25 , wherein the conductive base anode is a conductive film having a thickness of about 50 nm to 50 μm.
28. The anode of claim 27 , wherein the conductive thin film base anode is disposed on a substrate of a different material.
29. The anode of claim 25 , wherein the conductive base anode is a bulk single crystal or a polycrystalline material.
30. The anode of claim 25 , wherein the conductive base anode is made of a material selected from the group consisting of: Si, Ge, GaAs, GaP, InP, AlP, CdS, CdSe, and a combination thereof.
31. The anode of claim 25 , wherein the conductive base anode is made of a material selected from the group consisting of: Ti, Al, TiN, Ir, Pd, Pt, Ni, Ru, Ta, oxides of Ir, Pd, Pt, Ni, metal silicides, metal germanides, and a combination thereof.
32. The anode of claim 25 , wherein the conductive base anode has a porous structure.
33. The anode of claim 25 , wherein the conductive base anode has pore channels having a length:diameter aspect ratio of about 2:1 to 20000:1.
34. The anode of claim 25 , wherein the conductive base anode has a layer of metallic conducting or doped semiconducting nanowires, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is disposed on the nanowires.
35. The anode of claim 34 , wherein the catalyst layer is conformally coated on the nanowires.
36. The anode of claim 34 , wherein the layer of nanowires has an areal density of about 0.1 to 5000 wires per μm 2 .
37. The anode of claim 35 , wherein the nanowire has a diameter of about 10 nm to 1 μm and a height (length) of about 100 nm to 100 μm.
38. The anode of claim 34 , wherein the layer of conductive nanowires is made of the same material as the conductive substrate.
39. The anode of claim 34 , wherein the layer of conductive nanowires is made of a different material as the conductive substrate.
40. A method of producing molecular O 2 comprising:
exposing water to an anode, wherein the anode includes:
a catalyst layer, a corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, and a conductive base anode, wherein the oxidation-resistant barrier layer is disposed on the conductive base anode and the catalyst layer is disposed on the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is disposed between the catalyst layer and the conductive base anode, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is a pin-hole-free layer, wherein the interfacial areal resistance of the corrosion-resistant barrier layer is less than 10 ohms cm 2 , and wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is less than 10 nm thick,
oxidizing the water at the catalyst layer surface; and
forming molecular O 2 .
41. A method of producing molecular Cl 2 comprising:
exposing chloride ions in an electrochemical solution to an anode, wherein the anode includes:
a catalyst layer, a corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, and a conductive base anode, wherein the oxidation-resistant barrier layer is disposed on the conductive base anode and the catalyst layer is disposed on the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is disposed between the catalyst layer and the conductive base anode, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is a pin-hole-free layer, wherein the interfacial areal resistance of the corrosion-resistant barrier layer is less than 10 ohms cm 2 , and wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is less than 10 nm thick,
oxidizing the chloride ions at the catalyst layer surface; and
forming molecular Cl 2 .
42. A method comprising:
exposing the compounds selected from the group consisting of: an olefin, an aromatic or alkylated aromatic organic feedstocks in an electrochemical solution, to an anode, wherein the anode includes:
a catalyst layer, a corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, and a conductive base anode, wherein the oxidation-resistant barrier layer is disposed on the conductive base anode and the catalyst layer is disposed on the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is disposed between the catalyst layer and the conductive base anode, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is a pin-hole-free layer, and wherein the interfacial areal resistance of the corrosion-resistant barrier layer is less than 10 ohms cm 2 ,
oxidizing the compounds selected from the group consisting of: an olefin, an aromatic or alkylated aromatic organic feedstocks, at the catalyst layer surface; and
forming oxidized organic reaction products.
43. A method comprising:
exposing a compounds to an anode, wherein the anode includes:
a catalyst layer, a corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, and a conductive base anode, wherein the oxidation-resistant barrier layer is disposed on the conductive base anode and the catalyst layer is disposed on the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is disposed between the catalyst layer and the conductive base anode, wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is a pin-hole-free layer, wherein the interfacial areal resistance of the corrosion-resistant barrier layer is less than 10 ohms cm 2 , and wherein the corrosion-inhibiting barrier layer is less than 10 nm thick,
oxidizing the compounds at the catalyst layer surface;
forming oxidized compounds; and
determining the identity of the compounds or the quantity of the compounds.