Study on electrochemical degradation of nicosulfuron by IrO2-based DSA electrodes: Performance, kinetics, and degradation mechanism

Abstract

The widely used sulfonylurea herbicides have caused negative effects on the environment and human beings. Electrochemical degradation has attracted much attention in the treatment of refractory organic compounds due to its advantage of producing no secondary pollution. Three kinds of IrO2-based dimensionally stable anodes (DSAs) were used to degrade nicosulfuron by a batch electrochemical process. The results showed that a well-distributed crack network was formed on the Ti/Ta2 O5-IrO2 electrode and Ti/Ta2 O5-SnO2-IrO2 electrode due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion between the Ti substrate and oxide coatings. The oxygen evolution potential (OEP) increased according to the order of Ti/RuO2-IrO2