Photocatalytic glucose electrooxidation of titanium dioxide doped CdTe enhanced for a photocatalytic fuel cell

Abstract

The 0.1 % CdTe/TiO2 photocatalysts with different atomic molar ratios (90–10, 70–30, 50–50, and 30–70) were synthesized by the wetness impregnation method and characterized by the XRD, SEM-EDX and mapping, N2 adsorption–desorption, ICP-MS, TEM-EDS and STEM mapping, UV–VIS spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, XPS, TPR, TPO, and TPD analyses. The photocatalytic activities were examined to investigate by CV, CA, and EIS electrochemical analyses for photocatalytic fuel cells (PFCs) in glucose solution in the dark and under UV illumination. The characterization analyses revealed that anatase TiO2 was formed for the catalyst and changed its electronic structure and surface properties when doped with metal. The photocatalytic glucose electrooxidation results indicated that the 0.1 % CdTe(50–50)/TiO2 catalyst exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity, stability, and resistance than other catalysts both in the dark (6.22 mA cm−2) and under UV illumination (16.88 mA cm−2). The study offered a promising new type of photocatalysts for PFC applications.