Study of IrO2-SnO2 Films Prepared by rf-Sputtering at Ambient Temperature

IrO2-based films are well known for their excellent electrocatalytic activity when applied as anodes in the chlor-alkali industry, wastewater treatment, organic synthetic application, as well as oxygen-evolving electrodes in the galvanic industry [1]. A so-called dimensionally stable anode (DSA) consists of an electrochemically active coating, which is generally a mixture of metal oxides, deposited on a given base metal, usually Titanium. A correlation between the electronic properties of oxides and their structure and morphology is fundamental for understanding the behavior of thin films, whose synthesis may be accomplished with different procedures. In this work, we focused on different IrO2- SnO2 film compositions prepared at ambient temperature by rf-reactive magnetron sputtering. This approach allows a better control on mixture composition and a better homogeneity than the conventional sol–gel methods, typically based on the thermal decomposition, or pyrolysis, of suitable precursors at temperatures in the 400-500 °C range [2].