Effectiveness factor of fast (Fe3+/Fe2+), moderate (Cl2/Cl-) and slow (O2/H2O) redox couples using IrO2-based electrodes of different loading

The effectiveness factor, E (f), (fraction of the electrode surface that participates effectively in the investigated reaction) of fast (Fe3+/Fe2+), moderate (Cl-2/Cl-) and slow (O-2/H2O) redox couples has been estimated using IrO2-based electrodes with different loading. The method of choice was linear sweep voltammetry (measurement of the anodic peak current) for the Fe3+/Fe2+ redox couple and steady-state polarization (determination of the exchange current) for the O-2 and Cl-2 evolution reactions. The results have shown that the effectiveness factor depends strongly on the kinetics of the investigated redox reaction. For the Fe3+/Fe2+ redox couple, effectiveness factors close to zero (max 4%) have been obtained contrary to the O-2 evolution reaction where effectiveness factors close to 100% can be achieved, all being independent of IrO2 loading. For the Cl-2 evolution reaction, intermediate values of the effectiveness factor have been found and they decrease strongly, from 100% down to about 60%, with increasing loading.