Enhancing the oxygen evolution activity and stability of Pb anode in Mn2+-containing acidic solution by embedding MnCo2O4 particles

Due to the excellent activity and stability of MnCo2O4 toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in acidic solution, a Pb–MnCo2O4 composite anode for zinc electrowinning was prepared by embedding dispersed MnCo2O4 particles into a Pb matrix in a powder metallurgy process. In this work, the phase structure, chemical composition, and morphology of the oxide layers formed on Pure-Pb and Pb–MnCo2O4 were analyzed by XRD, SEM, and EDS. Galvanostatic polorization, Tafel tests, and EIS measurements were performed to investigate the anodic potential variation and OER kinetics of the Pure-Pb and Pb–MnCo2O4 composite anodes. Compared with that on the Pure-Pb anode, the oxide layer on Pb–MnCo2O4 is thinner, more compact, and more stable in a 160 g L−1 H2SO4 solution containing 4 g L−1 Mn2+. Consequently, the Pb–MnCo2O4 composite anode exhibited a much lower anode slime production (8.7 mg) during 72 h of the simulated zinc electrowinning process. Despite the smaller surface area and lower PbO2 content of the oxide layer, the Pb–MnCo2O4 composite anode presented preferable OER kinetics with a lower OER charge transfer resistance (0.729 Ω cm2) and a smaller Tafel slope (90.74 mV dec−1), which contributed to a 70 mV reduction in the anodic potential compared with that of the Pure-Pb anode.