Facile electrochemical polymerization of polypyrrole film applied as cathode material in dual rotating disk photo fuel cell

Abstract

Polypyrrole (PPy) film is synthesized on Ti substrate through electrochemical polymerization method and is applied as cathode material in a TiO2 NTs-PPy dual rotating disk photo fuel cell (PFC). The optimized PPy electrochemical polymerization is carried out using linear sweep voltammetry from 0 V to 1.2 V (vs. SCE) with scan rate of 0.1 V s−1, 100 circles. Sixty milliliter real textile wastewater with the initial COD and conductivity of 408 ± 6 mgO2 L−1 and 20180 μS cm−1 is treated in this PFC under UV irradiation. About 0.46 V open-circuit voltage (VOC) and 1.8–2.2 mA short-circuit current (JSC) are obtained. Due to the effective electron-hole separation effect, the COD removal rate is as high as 0.0055 min−1. Stable current and COD removal can be obtained at different output voltage. Two influence factors including rotating speed and pH are investigated. Better electricity generation performance and COD removal activity are achieved at high rotating speed and in acidic condition. In comparison with platinized cathode, though VOC is lower, similar JSC is measured. Considering the high cost of Pt, PPy is a promising alternative cathode material in PFC that can also generate electricity efficiently and stably.