April 6, 2012 – JCN Newswire — Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K., the manufacturing business arm of Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd. (a company of Tanaka Precious Metals), developed a platinum electrode that produces ozone solution at 40x the efficiency of existing technology.
It produces 3.6ppm of ozone via water electrolysis for 30 minutes under 0.1 amperes per square centimeter conditions. Conventional platinum electrodes, using lead oxide coatings, produce 0.09ppm of ozone under the same conditions, Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo reports. Under durability tests, the company recorded the electrode’s lifetime at 1,000+ hours under a current of 0.1A/cm2 (over 100Ah/cm2).
The product’s new catalyst layer comprises an alloy of titanium and platinum. When used as an anode, the electrode can increase the electric potential for producing oxygen through the electrolysis of water (higher oxygen overvoltage), and is able to efficiently produce cathode reactions that conflict with oxygen production reactions normally difficult to produce with ordinary electrodes. Titanium has a high oxygen overvoltage but short lifespan; platinum has a long lifespan but low oxygen overvoltage. The alloy combines high oxygen overvoltage and a long lifespan.
Electrodes coated with lead oxide suffer problems such as reduced electrode life due to separation during electrolysis and the elution of lead. Pure platinum electrodes are expensive, due to their low ozone production efficiency and the high cost of materials. Titanium electrodes coated with platinum are unable to achieve sufficient ozone production efficiency or electrode lifespan.
The new electrodes can reduce power consumption and increase production in sterile water/rinse water applications. For semiconductor cleaning applications, the ozone production method can replace the electrical discharge method and the photochemical reaction method. Electrical discharge (including silent discharge and corona discharge methods) produces large amounts of ozone, but requires large devices and produces nitrogen oxide contaminants unless oxygen is used as a raw material.
Ozone solution is a highly oxidative substance capable of sterilization, deodorizing, deactivation of viruses and removal of organic material. It naturally breaks down into oxygen at room temperature, and uses a relatively small production device.
Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo will continue to make technological improvements to increase the lifespan and stabilize the quality of the electrode. Samples are currently available, with mass production in 2013.
Tanaka Precious Metals has built a diversified range of business activities focused on the use of precious metals. On April 1, 2010, the group was reorganized with Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd. as the holding company (parent company) of the Tanaka Precious Metals. Learn more at www.tanaka.co.jp.