Cost-Efficient Ti-V-Sn-Sb Chlorine-Evolving Electrodes Deposited by Liquid Plasma Spraying for Antibacterial and Wastewater Treatment

Electrochemical chlorine evolution is a promising approach for antimicrobial and wastewater treatment. However, the large-scale applications of conventional electrodes are hindered by the high cost of precious metals and tedious thermal decomposition method. In this study, precious metal-free electrodes for chlorine evolution were fabricated via liquid plasma spraying technique using a Ti 0.35 V 0.35 Sn 0.25 Sb 0.05 feedstock solution with varying total metal concentration. Scanning electron microscopy combined with EDS elemental analysis showed that the coatings exhibited a loose and porous morphology, with Ti, V, Sn and Sb elements uniformly distributed throughout. X-ray diffraction analysis identified characteristic diffraction peaks corresponding to VO 2 , SnO 2 , Sb 2 O 5 and TiO 2 in the coatings. The electrocatalytic properties of the coatings were evaluated using multiple electrochemical techniques, and the electrode prepared using the 1.0 M feedstock solution demonstrated the best performance. Antimicrobial test showed that after 30-s electrolysis, the disinfection rates of simulated tap water against E. coli and S. aureus exceeded 88.1% and 96.8%, respectively, whereas for the 0.06 M NaCl solution, both pathogens were inactivated by over 99.9% within 15 s. Additionally, methylene blue degradation reached 98.4% after 45 min of electrolysis. This study provides a new strategy for producing low-cost chlorine-evolving electrodes with potential application in antibacterial and wastewater treatment.