Improved dye degradation and simultaneous electricity generation in a photoelectrocatalytic microbial fuel cell equipped with AgBr/CuO hybrid photocathode

Abstract

Cathodic degradation of reactive black 5 (RB5) dye with simultaneous power production is effectively carried out in a dual-chambered photoelectrocatalytic microbial fuel cell (Photo-MFC) comprising of a bioanode and an AgBr/CuO hybrid photocathode under both light illumination and dark condition. The performance of this composite is compared with AgBr, CuO and also bare graphite in terms of MFC produced power density and also its ability to degrade RB5 dye. The synthesized photocatalysts are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis DRS), and their electrochemical behavior is evaluated by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that maximum RB5 degradation efficiency by AgBr/CuO photocathode is 55.56% over 72 h under light illumination which is greater than what was obtained in dark condition (16.36%) and also with bare graphite. The MFC with AgBr/CuO-assisted photocathode under light irradiation reached a maximum power density of 61.11 mW m−2 which is higher than the produced density for bare graphite. These results show that the synergic effects of biological anode and light-sensitive cathode can improve the output of MFCs.