# Titanium anodes will not evolve chlorine gas



## OMG (Jun 5, 2008)

So, I got some grade 5 titanium in finally.
I put in in my cell as the anode expecting to see a lot of chlorine coming off it, and there was none. Instead it sloughed off some off-white flakes of stuff. I'm guessing it is titanium dioxide. I don't know what else it would be.

My guess is that titanium chloride wants to form; but because there is water right there, it forms into titanium chloride and hydrogen chloride instead.
Although no fumes of HCl are coming off.. unless its immediately getting absorbed into the water. I'll let it go for a while to see if HCl will eventually come off.
?? TiCl4 + 2H2O -> TiO2 + 4HCl

Anyone know what is going on?
Anyone know of an anode material that will not degrade in a HCl electrolyte where Cl2 is supposed to be coming off the anode? The only thing I've found is carbon, which falls apart rather quickly and doesn't conduct electricity very well. (Something that is not insanely hard to acquire)


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## Anonymous (Jun 5, 2008)

While working on a process to recover copper, I read that titanium is resistant to cloride, except when electrical potential it applied or something like that.


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## Platdigger (Jun 5, 2008)

I would think that even platinum would degrade under these conditions.

What if you just used sodium chloride as the electrolyte?
Randy


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## OMG (Jun 5, 2008)

Tried sodium chloride only.
Same thing happened.


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## Platdigger (Jun 5, 2008)

With platinum as the anode?

Maybe you could buy some platinum plated tweezers from mariam31....
Randy


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## Lino1406 (Jun 12, 2008)

Get anodized, like Al


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## OMG (Jun 12, 2008)

Okay, I'll try. But I think I've used some anodized aluminum before and it corroded quite quickly.
I think the mixture is too acidic.
Plain aluminum definitely does not work. It dissolves quite vigorously.


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## Lino1406 (Jun 12, 2008)

Platinized titanium
Graphite
Cast magnetite


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## OMG (Jun 13, 2008)

Thanks Lino, I'll try magnetite.


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## Anonymous (Jul 3, 2008)

I used graphite from a pencil and it dissolved.


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## lazersteve (Jul 3, 2008)

Try hard graphite like is used for machine work. 

I use it for some of my cathodes.

Steve


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## Blacktoadd (Jul 14, 2008)

I am working on recovering my values from the ore of the "rocks of Arizona" not ckt boards etc. some types of ore is high in copper. I use HCl first because it doesn't disolve much if any of the values. So I started to plate out some of the copper for fun, profit, dropping values, Inquartation etc. I started with a lead diving weight. The lead chloride drops to the bottom, "I wonder how much stays in solution?" Unlike you guys I also have every other mineral in the world in the solution soluable in the HCl. "I wonder how pure my copper is?" However If you look up electrowinning of Copper most use sulfuric baths. They do have some exotic anodes available for high production use. I didnt bother yet seeing if I could justify one yet. 
Bruce


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