[maxvortex]

Hi.
I don't understand how to activate iron plate.
To be honest i don't know what this activation means.

I found some info on net but basically this would mean that i have to put iron plate in some kind of sulfuric acid. Is this correct ?
If so, then what sulfuric solution should i use and how strong should it be.

Regards ! 

[Hunter2]

What do you want to do with the iron plate.

[Schrödinger]

Usually a passive oxide layer forms on the surface of metals. To remove that, you use an acid to digest the oxide layer. This is how you expose the metal underneath and thereby 'activate' the surface, I guess

[maxvortex]

What do you want to do with the iron plate

I want to improve my battery cell. To make this work i need to make this "activation" process.

Usually a passive oxide layer forms on the surface of metals. To remove that, you use an acid to digest the oxide layer. This is how you expose the metal underneath and thereby 'activate' the surface, I guess

OK. i think that this could be the solution. What do you mean with passive oxide layer ?
I'm cleaning the plate with soft sandpaper and after that i apply the iron oxide (Fe2o3 in powder ).

Do you think that passive oxide could prevent binding of Fe2o3 to iron plate ?
From my point of view, when i put the Fe2o3 on the iron plate, the "activation" process is over, but it looks like that this is just part of the solution. Or ?

 

[Schrödinger]

Well, the passive layer is not necessarily a pure one with just one oxidation state of iron in the oxide form. There may be other oxidation states. For instance, the layer could be made up of a mixture of Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄ or FeO. There could also be other impurities which could prevent efficient binding of whatever be the layer you're trying to bind onto the metal

And could you also please tell us why you're applying the layer? I mean, is the application of Fe₂O₃ your primary objective in this 'activation' process you mentioned?

[maxvortex]

I mean, is the application of Fe2O3 your primary objective in this 'activation' process you mentioned?

Yes it is.

The iron plate ( mesh ) must be oxidized with Fe2O3 but the bigger problem is that this must be hard bonded with iron mesh . If i don't do this then the oxide will fall down in some time ( the oxide is in 30% KOH solution ). So am using mixture of fe203 and glue to make this bond. I tried without the glue but the result is the same. Voltage and current is the same as if i would use glue to make the bond. After some research i noticed that i have to use the activation process on iron mesh. So now, i have to decide how to make this activation part.