Photomicrographs of the Lead Dioxide Anode
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This is going to be a fairly brief blog entry. I still have not tried either of the recently plated LD (Lead Dioxide) anodes to create perchlorate, but I hope to soon. I'd like to make a few more while the setup is in place, and vary some of the parameters a bit.
I've always been a fan of microscopy, and decided to take a look at the better of the two anodes under a stereo microscope. To take pictures, I have two options - I can set up a camera in one of the eyepieces, and use a small notebook computer to capture the images. Or, I can take my usual handheld camera (A Sony CD-Mavica, and old beast) and hold it right up to the eyepiece. The images are NEVER as good as the naked eye. If you've never had a chance to play with a good stereo microscope, you're missing something special. An insect under one of these pops into a huge, 3-d alien image. They are really cool.
Of the two lead dioxide plated anodes, this was the better of the two:
Being wet, it has a shiny, ceramic appearance. Once dried, it looks and feels a lot like 600 grit silicon carbide paper. This equates to surface area... a lot of it, and that is desirable. Under the microscope, there are grains evident, and I was very happy to see that they are quite fine and even.
Zooming in a bit, the individual grains become more evident:
A large surface area equates to an anode that can handle more current; the individual grains provide locations for chemical conversion of chlorate to perchlorate. I could see no evidence of pinholes or other defects. Other than being ugly in terms of the overall shape, and the edge blobs, I can see no real problems with this anode. But it could easily fall apart in a matter of an hour or two in a perchlorate bath. Only an actual test will tell.
I have been taking copious notes, so hopefully I can replicate anything that actually does work. One of the next goals is to try a plating that adheres, but does not have the mass of this anode. It is remarkably heavy for its size, and is approaching what might be called a "massive" LD anode, which was never the goal, although I will be happy if it works.
If the adherance is successful, if the LD is of the correct form, and it makes perchlorate, rather than 182 grams of LD, 40 to 50 would do the same job and save a lot on chemicals. A shorter plating time, with a similar procedure, will hopefully do the job.
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