Significant photocatalytic degradation and electricity generation in the photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) using novel anodic nanocomposite of Fe, graphene oxide, and titanium phosphate

Abstract

A novel iron-graphene oxide-titanium phosphate (Fe/GTiP) nanocomposite with different iron contents were synthesized through a simple chemical process and was used as an anode catalyst in photocatalytic fuel cells (PFCs) for simultaneous electricity generation and enhanced degradation of organic pollutant such as rhodamine B (RhB). The optimal Fe doping was 5 wt% in PFC. Increase in the RhB concentration from 10 to 100 mg/L led to the increase of cell voltage up to 0.4 V. Stainless steel loaded anode and cathode shows better stability in cycled degradation than carbon fiber cloth because of no falling of catalyst in repeating cycles, when carbon fiber and stainless steel based electrodes were tested separately in single chamber PFC. Using two 50 W halogen lamps, Fe/GTiP loaded anode and ZnIn2S4 cathode, 90% RhB was removed at pH 1 in 0.05 M Na2SO4 electrolyte connected with 100Ω external resistance. The electrolyte pH affects the degradation and cell voltage. Increase in external resistance decreased the degradation but did not affect cell voltage. In contrast, without electricity generation, 79.5% RhB was removed by pure photocatalysis which is lower than that under PFC.