Development of the Noble Metal/Oxide Coated Titanium Electrode

The titanium-based electrode was invented some forty years ago. Since then it has been incorporated into a wide variety of industrial processes on a huge scale, principally in the chlor-alkali industry. Deriving from industrial, as opposed to academic, work, the saga of its commercial exploitation has involved patenting and secrecy on a massive scale. Despite there being numerous contributors to the overall technology, just a few individuals are holders of the hundreds of patents that were taken out. It is not intended that this article should contain comprehensive details of patents and other published literature, but rather be an attempt to portray, as accurately as possible, the excitement generated as the technology unfolded. However, it is bound to be inevitable, bearing in mind the complexities and the scope of commercial involvement, that not all readers will be satisfied with every detail, so apologies are offered in advance to those who may inadvertently feel themselves slighted.