Darkonez Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Hi all i have tried electrolysis a couple of times and I’m having no luck. I’m using distilled water and Kcl salt. I have titanium and platinum Anode cathode. Running 5v 2amp but as soon as I start it gives a green haze but within a hour it’s all brown and overnight the anode had totally dissolved??? Any help or advise.
AustralianPyromaniac Posted January 7 Posted January 7 15 hours ago, Darkonez said: I have titanium and platinum Anode cathode What?? Titanium and platinum anode-cathode? which is which?? both? Your platinum is probably fake. Sounds like iron chloride is forming.
Arthur Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Cheap "Platinum" electrodes are sometimes so thinly Pt plated that it doesn't cover the structural metal, so they corrode. Platinum is expensive and good or cheap and very bad, simply because of the price. If you can't afford a pure platinum electrode buy and use a MMO surfaced titanium anode. MMO is available on ebay. Additionally to ease the life of the electrodes you need to use sodium chloride and use near to a saturated solution, sodium chloride is so much more soluble than potassium chloride. Adding KCl to a finished cell precipitates KClO3 which may be useful BUT KClO3 cannot be electrolised to KClO4.
AustralianPyromaniac Posted January 8 Posted January 8 KCl vs. NaCl electrolysis does not affect electrode life, KCl is more soluble than NaCl at temperatures above 30C, which is how the cell runs. NaCl is needed to go to NaClO4 due to low KClO3 solubility, but KCl to KClO3 makes more sense to prevent sodium contamination. I agree with MMO, it is way better than platinum for chlorate production, but cannot make perchlorate whereas platinum can do that
Darkonez Posted January 8 Author Posted January 8 Just so you can laugh here is a picture of the anode after. eBay purchased by the way lol
mx5kevin Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Platinum electrodes applied to a 5 micron in titanium base are all unsuitable for NaClO3, NaClO4, KClO3 purpose. The electrode must be custom-made by a laboratory platinum manufacturer. This must be made of high-purity platinum. The platinum on a silver base are 200 micron (0,2mm thick). Power supply 6V 4A required. If the 5 micron platinized titanium anode buyght on Ebay It's most likely neither platinum nor titanium. If the anode are not fake 5 micron it will not last long and the platinum coating is not pure platinum either. I've had my platinum electrode for 15 years and there is very minimal surface damage to it. And it wasn't much more expensive than a platinized titanium anode. I don't know anyone who could use these 5 micron titanium-based electrodes for years. But even the tiny 10mmx20mmx0,2mm electrodes made of pure platinum are not a good choice too, nor do thin platinum wires are a good choice. You need the right surface and you need the amps. At 6 volts, a connection point on a thin point is not the best option. It's not even worth trying something like this under a 4 amp power supply. Here are more parameters. A larger version of the electrode I used can be made, but it will cost double amount. there must be used a 6V 6A power supply. The advantage is that it is cheap 6V car battery charger enough for this setup, and a cheap 10mm carbon welding rood for cathode. It will last a lifetime, and suitable all types of chlorates and perchlorates from 400ml to 2000ml cell design.
mx5kevin Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Do not use a 2 amp power supply. Even with a smaller electrode, 1.5 amps can pass through the cell. With a 4 amp power supply, the cell doesn't have a problem drawing 1.5 amps for a long time. The other problem is with large electrodes where they can draw too many amps and overheating the cell. You need a regulated power supply there. However, with the small electrode, this is not necessary because it will not be able to draw too many amps. You cannot make perchlorates with MMO anodes, only chlorates. It is also worth purchasing a PbO2 anode, but both only from a trusted manufacturer. I saw someone selling a PbO2 anode made in their garage on Ebay. I also don't recommend anyone trying to make anodes at home. Cheap and easy homemade PbO2 anodes will not succeed, to do it precisely costs at least as much as the total cost of producing perchlorate, including all the equipment. If anyone still thinks that's not the case, they'll see that their anode will quickly wear out. If larger electrodes are used required a adjustable lab power supply. I do not recommend anyone to just connect an unregulated 15 amp or higher power supply to the cell. About the factory made PbO2 anodes, a lifespan of between of this anodes six months and one year calculated of total maximal run time should be expected. Here is a detailed study mainly on homemade PbO2 anodes. I heard that there were sellers who promised surreal unrealistic lifespans for PbO2 anodes. MMO anodes perform very well in chlorate cells, withstanding a lot of use, much more than PbO2 in perchlorate cells. But they can't last forever either. The latter is said to last for three years of continuous operation. 3-10 year lifespan in RuO2, IrO2 MMO anodes at factory setup in a NaCl to NaClO3 setup. 1-3 year lifespan in PbO2 (using a titanium base) anodes at factory setup in a NaClO3 to NaClO4 setup.
Arthur Posted January 9 Posted January 9 Remember also that normal operation of a chlorate cell slowly goes off running pH and this needs correction regularly.
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