Electrodeposited zinc phosphate hydrate electrodes for electrocatalytic applications

Zinc phosphate hydrate Zn 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ·4H 2 O thin films were deposited making use of chronoamperometric mode, on three types of substrates: fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) on glass, stainless steel, and titanium. The precursors were solutions in aqueous medium of Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O and NH 4 H 2 PO 4 . The effects of various parameters (concentrations of starting precursors, nature of substrates) on the properties of electrodeposited films were analyzed. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemical cyclic voltammetry. The material Zn 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ·4H 2 O, electrodeposited on the three different substrates to form three types of anodes, crystallized in the orthorhombic structure of hopeite β. The first determinations of the electrocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) were performed using the three types of anodes. The RhB degradation was followed by UV–Visible spectrophotometry and also by chemical oxygen demand: it was found that the best degradation was obtained on FTO substrate. Graphical abstract