Investigation of the oxidative-pyrolysis processes of RuCl3 center dot xH(2)O and IrCl3 center dot xH(2)O

The reactions of oxidative-thermal decomposition of the precursor salts RuCl3.xH2O and IrCl3.xH2O used in the dimensionally stable anode (DSA) preparation were studied. The pyrolytic processes were followed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), by which it was also possible to study the deposited film structure from the depth-profiles vs. storage thickness. The mass spectra show, for both precursors, a progressive oxidation leading eventually to the formation of the respective oxides (RuO2, IrO2); by depth-profiles, however, it also was verified that the films are not homogeneous but some components are segregated in different regions.