Abstract
Photocatalytic fuel cells (PFCs) are a sustainable technology with application in waste water treatment, in which energy is obtained from the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. However, the application of PFCs is limited by the photoanode, in particular its low efficiency for treating recalcitrant pollutants. In this study, a double chamber PFC reactor was constructed. Visible-light-driven Ag-TiO2 photocatalyst supported carbon foam was used as the anode and platinum was used as the cathode. 4-Chlorophenol (4-CP) was used as a model pollutant in the cation chamber to investigate the efficiency of pollutant degradation and power generation. The effects of the electrolyte type and solution pH on the 4-CP degradation and power production were investigated. The results showed that 32.6% of 4-CP was degraded by the PFC in 6 h. Na2SO4 was the optimum electrolyte and had the least side effects on the degradation of 4-CP when compared with NaCl, NaHCO3 and NaH2PO4. The optimum pH range was 6.4–8.4 when sodium sulfate was used as the electrolyte. The power density was approximately 36.0 mW/m2 under the above experimental conditions.
Highlights
Chlorophenols are important industrial raw materials and are widely used in the production of solvents, dyes, preservatives, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides [1,2,3]
The results indicated that the Photocatalytic fuel cells (PFCs) could degrade the 4-CP contaminant and exhibit efficient power generation
Compared with the JCPDS files [24,25], the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that the as-prepared TiO2 and Ag-TiO2 powders were a mixture of anatase and rutile TiO2
Summary
Chlorophenols are important industrial raw materials and are widely used in the production of solvents, dyes, preservatives, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides [1,2,3]. On the surface of photocatalytic anodes, the irradiation by photons produces electrons and holes is the basis for the chemical reaction of PFCs. Many materials have been developed as PFC anode supports, such as fluorine-doped tin oxide conducting glass [12,13], titanium sheet [14], and zinc sheet [15]. Electrolytes and pH may have different effects on their photocatalytic effects due to the different reactive oxygen species (ROSs) and zero-point charge produced by different photocatalytic materials [21,22] These factors may affect the generation of electrical energy due to its different electrical conductivity. Electrolytes and pH are discussed in this article
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