Fabrication of a nano-structured PbO2 electrode by using printing technology: Surface characterization and application

This investigation aimed to introduce printing technology for the first time to prepare a nanostrucutured PbO2 electrode and its application to a cerium redox transfer process. The new method of nano-size PbO2 preparation demonstrated that nano-PbO2 could be obtained in less time and at less cost at room temperature. The prepared nano-PbO2 screen printed on a Ti electrode by three different compositions under similar conditions showed through surface and electrochemical analyses no adherence on Ti and no contact with other nano-PbO2 particles. Gravure printing of nano-PbO2 on a PET (poly ethylene thin) film at high pressure was done with two different compositions for the first time. The selective composition of 57.14 % nano-PbO2 powder with 4.28 % carbon black and 38.58 % ECA (ethyl carbitol acetate) produced a film with a nanoporous structure with an electron transfer ability. Finally, the optimized gravure-printed nano-PbO2 electrode was applied to the oxidation of Ce(III) to Ce(IV) by using cyclic voltammetry. The gravure-printed nano-PbO2 should pave the way to promising applications in electrochemical and sensor fields.