Preparation and Performance of KOH Activated Graphite Felt Anode for Electrolytic Regeneration of PCB Etchant

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Abstract The wettability and electrochemical activity of the graphite felt (GF) have a significant impact on the performance of the apparatus for electrolytic regeneration of PCB etchant. GF activated with KOH at 900℃ is employed as the anode of the cell for electrolytic regeneration of acidic CuCl₂ etchant. The morphology and the element composition of activated GF and untreated GF are characterized by SEM and XPS, respectively. The electrochemical performance of the two GF electrodes is evaluated through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that the oxygen content of the activated GF increases to 6.27at% from 2.60at% of the untreated GF, and the wettability is improved. The electrochemical activity towards oxidation of Cu (I) is improved, which can be ascribed to the increase of the number of the defective carbon. The BET specific surface of the GF increases by~42 times after KOH activation. The anode potential and the cell voltage of the activated GF decreases by 0.10 V and 0.05~0.06 V,respectively,compared with the untreated GF in the etchant electrolytic regeneration experiment.

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	Articles by authors
	Wang Chunzhen
	Zhang Wen
	Wang Yuxin

Keywords： graphite felt； electrolytic regeneration； etchant； KOH activation

Received 2016-04-26;

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Wang Chunzhen, Zhang Wen, Wang Yuxin.Preparation and Performance of KOH Activated Graphite Felt Anode for Electrolytic Regeneration of PCB Etchant[J] Chemcial Industry and Engineering, 2018,V35(5): 19-27

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