title: A solar light driven dual photoelectrode photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) for simultaneous wastewater treatment and electricity generation.
abstract: In this paper, a novel dual heterojunction Photocatalytic Fuel Cell (PFC) system based on BiVO4/TiO2 nanotubes/FTO photoanode and ZnO/CuO nanowires/FTO photocathode has been designed. Compared with the electrodes in PFCs reported in earlier literatures, the proposed heterojunction not only enhances the visible light absorption but also offers a higher photoconversion efficiency. In addition, the nanostructured heterojunction owns a large surface area that ensures a large amount of active sites for organics degradation. The performance of the PFC base on the dual photoelectrodes was also studied herein. The results indicated that the PFC in ths paper exhibits a superior performance and its JV(max) reached 0.116 mw cm(-2), which is higher than that in most of reported PFCs with a Pt-free photocathode. When hazardous organic compounds such as methyl orange, Congo red and methylene blue were decomposed, the degradation rates obtained is to be 76%, 83%, and 90% respectively after 80 mins reaction. The proposed heterojunction photoelectrodes provided great potential for cost-effective and high-efficiency organic pollutants degradation and electricity generation in a PFC system.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
authors.forename: Yunpo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Sciences, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
authors.forename: Qingyi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
authors.forename: Ligang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
authors.forename: Xuejin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.
authors.forename: Jinhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Sciences, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211198, PR China.
authors.forename: Caolong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China. Electronic address: zhoubaoxue@sjtu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Baoxue
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
keywords: BiVO(4)/TiO(2) nanotubes; Electricity generation; Organics degradation; Photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC); ZnO/CuO nanowires