Efficient Photocatalytic Fuel Cell via Simultaneous Visible-Photoelectrocatalytic Degradation and Electricity Generation on a Porous Coral-like WO₃/W Photoelectrode

Abstract

Photocatalytic fuel cells (PFCs) have proven to be effective for generating electricity and degrading pollutants with a goal to resolve environmental and energy problems. However, the degradation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), remains challenging. In the present work, a porous coral-like WO3/W (PCW) photoelectrode with a well-designed energy band structure was used for the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of POPs and the simultaneous generation of electricity. The as-constructed bionic porous coral-like nanostructure greatly improved the light-harvesting capacity of the PCW photoelectrode. A maximum photocurrent density (0.31 mA/cm2) under visible light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation and a high incident photon conversion efficiency (IPCE) value (5.72% at 420 nm) were achieved. Because of the unique porous coral-like structure, the suitable energy band position, and the strong oxidation ability, this PCW photoelectrode-based PFC system exhibited a strong ability for simultaneous photoelectrocatalytic degradation of PFOA and electricity generation under visible-light irradiation, with a power output of 0.0013 mV/cm2 using PFOA as the fuel. This work provides a promising way to construct a reliable PFC using highly toxic POPs to generate electricity.

Interface-modulated nanojunction and microfluidic platform for photoelectrocatalytic chemicals upgrading

“…As illustrated in Fig. 8a, a two-electrode photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) was constructed by using m-H-WO3/TiO2 as the photoanode and Pt/C coated carbon paper as the cathode for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) [60]. When glycerol is employed as the organic source, an open-circuit potential of 0.9 V and a short-circuit current of 1.2 mA cm −2 are realized using such an integrated device (Fig.…”

In-situ fabrication SnO2/SnS2 heterostructure for boosting the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants

“…Photocatalysis, a promising green catalysis technology, was widely investigated to address environmental pollution and mitigate energy shortage [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The use of solar-driven photocatalysts could effectively promote organic pollutant degradation.…”

“…The use of co-catalysts, mostly no-ble metals (e.g., Pt, Au, and Pd), has been demonstrated as a successful strategy for improving electron migration. Furthermore, wider absorption semiconductors, such as WO3 [6,16,17], CuO [18,19], CdS [5,20,21], SnS2 [22], MoS2 [23][24][25][26], BiOX (X = Cl, Br, I) [27][28][29][30], BiVO4 [31][32][33][34], g-C3N4 [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42], and red/black phosphorous [43][44][45], have been employed to greatly enhance photocatalytic efficiency [46]. Up till now, other novel strategies have been investigated to reduce the recombination of photogenerated carriers and accelerate the transfer of electron-hole pairs [40,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52].…”

WO3 Inversce Opal Photonic Crystals: Unique Property, Synthetic Methods and Extensive Application

“…[ 1‐2 ] Owing to these great properties, it has been widely used in environmental remediation, energy storage, electrochromic device and solar cells. [ 3‐6 ] Nevertheless, its further application is still restrained by some disadvantages including low surface area, slow electron transfer, inadequate utilization of light irradiation and high recombination of photo‐excited carriers.…”