BACKGROUND Research on electrode materials with high electrochemical activity is of great importance for the electrochemical oxidation technique. In this work, an electrode comprising titanium dioxide nanotubes with tin oxide antimony (TiO2-NTs/SnO2-Sb) with carbon aerogels (TSS-CAs) was fabricated and used to degrade three isomers of dihydroxybenzenes. RESULTS It was observed that the TSS-0.5%CAs electrode prepared with 0.5 wt% CAs possessed prominent pore structure and a larger specific surface area of 180.83 m(2) g(-1). Electrochemical measurements revealed that the TSS-0.5%CAs electrode had enhanced electrochemical activity, larger electroactive area, and higher oxygen evolution potential. Relevant operational parameters including initial contaminant concentration, pH, electrolyte concentration and current density had significant effects on the electrocatalytic performance of the TSS-CAs electrode. CONCLUSION It was demonstrated that a proper content of carbon aerogel could improve the structure and electrochemical performance of the TSS-CAs electrode. The removal of catechol was higher than that of hydroquinone and resorcinol during electrochemical oxidation, due to its lower Gibbs free energy barriers. Oxidation of intermediates of dihydroxybenzenes by the TSS-CAs electrode also was confirmed. (c) 2019 Society of Chemical Industry