Photoelectrochemical decomposition of bio-related compounds at a nanoporous semiconductor film photoanode and their photocurrent–photovoltage characteristics

Design and Fabrication of a Dual-Photoelectrode Fuel Cell towards Cost-Effective Electricity Production from Biomass

A photo fuel cell (PFC) offers an attractive way to simultaneously convert solar and biomass energy into electricity. Photocatalytic biomass oxidation on a semiconductor photoanode combined with dark electrochemical reduction of oxygen molecules on a metal cathode (usually Pt) in separated compartments is the common configuration for a PFC. Herein, we report a membrane-free PFC based on a dual electrode, including a W-doped BiVO₄ photoanode and polyterthiophene photocathode for solar-stimulated biomass-to-electricity conversion. Air- and water-soluble biomass derivatives can be directly used as reagents. The optimal device yields an open-circuit voltage (V_OC ) of 0.62 V, a short-circuit current density (J_SC ) of 775 μA cm^-2 , and a maximum power density (P_max ) of 82 μW cm^-2 with glucose as the feedstock under tandem illumination, which outperforms dual-photoelectrode PFCs previously reported. Neither costly separating membranes nor Pt-based catalysts are required in the proposed PFC architecture. Our work may inspire rational device designs for cost-effective electricity generation from renewable resources.

Cuprous oxide/titanium dioxide nanotube-array with coaxial heterogeneous structure synthesized by multiple-cycle chemical adsorption plus reduction method

We report the formation and characterization of Cu₂O/TiO₂ nanotube-array coaxial heterogeneous structure, which is supposed to have potential applications in photo-induced water decomposition and organic pollutant degradation.

Enhanced visible light driven photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol at reduced graphene oxide/CdS nanowires decorated with Pt nanoparticles

A ternary rGO/CdS NWs/Pt NPs nanocomposite is successfully synthesized via a template-free route and its application for electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol was developed.

Designing Photoelectrodes for Photocatalytic Fuel Cells and Elucidating the Effects of Organic Substrates

Photocatalytic fuel cells (PFCs) are constructed from anodized photoanodes with the aim of effectively converting organic materials into solar electricity. The syntheses of the photoanodes (TiO2 , WO3 , and Nb2 O5 ) were optimized using the statistical 2(k) factorial design. A systematic study was carried out to catalog the influence of eleven types of organic substrate on the photocurrent responses of the photoanodes, showing dependence on the adsorption of the organic substrates and on the associated photocatalytic degradation mechanisms. Strong adsorbates, such as carboxylic acids, generated high photocurrent enhancements. Simple and short-chained molecules, such as formic acid and methanol, are the most efficient in the corresponding carboxylic acid and alcohol groups as a result of their fast degradation kinetics. The TiO2 -based PFC yielded the highest photocurrent and obtainable power, whereas the Nb2 O5 -based PFC achieved the highest open-circuit voltage, which is consistent with its most negative Fermi level.

Conversion of Biomass Derivatives to Electricity in Photo Fuel Cells using Undoped and Tungsten-doped Bismuth Vanadate Photoanodes

The photo fuel cell (PFC) is a promising technology for simultaneously converting solar energy and bioenergy into electricity. Here, we present a miniature air-breathing PFC that uses either BiVO4 or W-doped BiVO4 as the photoanode and a Pt/C catalyst as the air-breathing cathode. The PFC exhibited excellent performance under solar illumination and when fed with several types of biomaterial. We found the PFC performance could be significantly enhanced using W-doping into the BiVO4 photoanode. With glucose as the fuel and simulated sunlight (AM 1.5 G) as the light source, the open-circuit voltage increased from 0.74 to 0.92 V, the short-circuit current density rose from 0.46 to 1.62 mA cm(-2) , and the maximum power density was boosted from 0.05 to 0.38 mW cm(-2) , compared to a PFC using undoped BiVO4 as the anode.

Optimization and application of TiO₂/Ti-Pt photo fuel cell (PFC) to effectively generate electricity and degrade organic pollutants simultaneously

A TiO2/Ti-Pt photo fuel cell (PFC) was established to generate electricity and degrade organic pollutants simultaneously. The electricity generation was optimized through investigation the influences of photoanode calcination temperature and dissolve oxygen on the resistances existing in PFC. TiO2 light quantum yield was also improved in PFC which resulted in a higher PC degradation efficiency. Two kinds of real textile wastewaters were also employed in this PFC system, 62.4% and 50.0% Coulombic efficiency were obtained for 8 h treatment. These refractory wastewaters with high salinity may become good fuels in PFC because a) TiO2 has no selectivity and can degrade nearly any organic substance, b) no more electrolyte is needed due to the high salinity, c) the energy in wastes can be recovered to generate electricity. The electricity generated by the PFC was further applied on a TiO2/Ti rotating disk photoelectrocatalytic reactor. A bias voltage between 0.6 and 0.75 V could be applied and the PC degradation efficiency was significantly improved. This result was similar with that obtained by a 0.7 V DC power.

Efficient electricity production and simultaneously wastewater treatment via a high-performance photocatalytic fuel cell

A great quantity of wastewater were discharged into water body, causing serious environmental pollution. Meanwhile, the organic compounds in wastewater are important sources of energy. In this work, a high-performance short TiO(2) nanotube array (STNA) electrode was applied as photoanode material in a novel photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) system for electricity production and simultaneously wastewater treatment. The results of current work demonstrate that various model compounds as well as real wastewater samples can be used as substrates for the PFC system. As a representative of model compounds, the acetic acid solution produces the highest cell performance with short-circuit current density 1.42 mA cm(-2), open-circuit voltage 1.48 V and maximum power density output 0.67 mW cm(-2). The STNA photoanode reveals obviously enhanced cell performance compared with TiO(2) nanoparticulate film electrode or other long nanotubes electrode. Moreover, the photoanode material, electrolyte concentration, pH of the initial solution, and cathode material were found to be important factors influencing the system performance of PFC. Therefore, the proposed fuel cell system provides a novel way of energy conversion and effective disposal mode of organics and serves well as a promising technology for wastewater treatment.

Schottky junction/ohmic contact behavior of a nanoporous TiO(2) thin film photoanode in contact with redox electrolyte solutions

The nature and photoelectrochemical reactivity of nanoporous semiconductor electrodes have attracted a great deal of attention. Nanostructured materials have promising capabilities applicable for the construction of various photonic and electronic devices. In this paper, a mesoporous TiO(2) thin film photoanode was soaked in an aqueous methanol solution using an O(2)-reducing Pt-based cathode in contact with atmospheric air on the back side. It was shown from distinct photocurrents in the cyclic voltammogram (CV) that the nanosurface of the mesoporous n-TiO(2) film forms a Schottky junction with water containing a strong electron donor such as methanol. Formation of a Schottky junction (liquid junction) was also proved by Mott-Schottky plots at the mesoporous TiO(2) thin film photoanode, and the thickness of the space charge layer was estimated to be very thin, i.e., only 3.1 nm at -0.1 V vs Ag/AgCl. On the other hand, the presence of [Fe(CN)(6)](4-) and the absence of methanol brought about ohmic contact behavior on the TiO(2) film and exhibited reversible redox waves in the dark due to the [Fe(CN)(6)](4-/3-) couple. Further studies showed that multiple Schottky junctions/ohmic contact behavior inducing simultaneously both photocurrent and overlapped reversible redox waves was found in the CV of a nanoporous TiO(2) photoanode soaked in an aqueous redox electrolyte solution containing methanol and [Fe(CN)(6)](4-). That is, the TiO(2) nanosurface responds to [Fe(CN)(6)](4-) to give ohmic redox waves overlapped simultaneously with photocurrents due to the Schottky junction. Additionally, a second step photocurrent generation was observed in the presence of both MeOH and [Fe(CN)(6)](4-) around the redox potential of the iron complex. It was suggested that the iron complex forms a second Schottky junction for which the flat band potential (E(fb)) lies near the redox potential of the iron complex.