Performance characteristics of a membraneless solar responsive photocatalytic fuel cell with an air-breathing cathode under different fuels and electrolytes and air conditions

Li, Lin; Shao, Xueguang; Chen, Rong; Liu, Qiang; Zhu, Xun; Wang, Zhibin; He, Xiao‐Ting; Feng, Hao; Cheng, Xin

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2015.09.090

Cited by 63 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…However, water oxidation is less efficient than the oxidation of organic sacrificial agents [7]. Therefore, photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen production has been achieved on several occasions by the oxidation of organic compounds [7][8][9][10][11][12], which may as well be wastes, thus offering an additional environmental benefit. In a typical procedure, a photoelectrochemical cell comprising a photoanode and a dark cathode is used [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photoelectrocatalytic H2 and H2O2 Production Using Visible-Light-Absorbing Photoanodes

et al. 2019

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Hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide have been photoelectrocatalytically produced by electrocatalytic reduction using simple carbon electrodes made by depositing a mesoporous carbon film on carbon cloth. Visible-light-absorbing photoanodes have been constructed by depositing mesoporous CdS/TiO2 or WO3 films on transparent fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes. Both produced substantial photocurrents of up to 50 mA in the case of CdS/TiO2 and 25 mA in the case of WO3 photoanodes, and resulting in the production of substantial quantities of H2 gas or aqueous H2O2. Maximum hydrogen production rate was 7.8 µmol/min, and maximum hydrogen peroxide production rate was equivalent, i.e., 7.5 µmol/min. The same reactor was employed for the production of both solar fuels, with the difference being that hydrogen was produced under anaerobic and hydrogen peroxide under aerated conditions. The present data promote the photoelectrochemical production of solar fuels by using simple inexpensive materials for the synthesis of catalysts and the construction of electrodes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photoelectrocatalytic H2 and H2O2 Production Using Visible-Light-Absorbing Photoanodes

et al. 2019

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“…TiO 2 /CdS photoanodes have mostly been used with sulfide electrolytes [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Nevertheless, the stability of CdS is guaranteed in the presence of an efficient hole scavenger, and this has been repeatedly shown in the presence of ethanol [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Any realistic approach for photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen production cannot be envisaged but with the employment of noble metal-free installations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Realistic Approach for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production

et al. 2018

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The production of hydrogen by water splitting has been a very attractive idea for several decades. However, the energy consumption that is necessary for water oxidation is too high for practical applications. On the contrary, the oxidation of organics is a much easier and less energy-demanding process. In addition, it may be used to consume organic wastes with a double environmental benefit: renewable energy production with environmental remediation. The oxidation of organics in a photoelectrochemical cell, which in that case is also referenced as a photocatalytic fuel cell, has the additional advantage of providing an alternative route for solar energy conversion. With this in mind, the present work describes a realistic choice of materials for the Pt-free photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen, by employing ethanol as a model organic fuel. The photoanode was made of a combination of titania with cadmium sulfide as the photosensitizer in order to enhance visible light absorbance. The cathode electrode was a simple carbon paper. Thus, it is shown that substantial hydrogen can be produced without electrocatalysts by simply exploiting carbon electrodes. Even though an ion transfer membrane was used in order to allow for an oxygen-free cathode environment, the electrolyte was the same in both the anode and cathode compartments. An alkaline electrolyte has been used to allow high hydroxyl concentration, thus facilitating organic fuel (photocatalytic) oxidation. Hydrogen production was then obtained by water reduction at the cathode (counter) electrode.

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“…This improvement to the electrolyte is significant since no other components (besides water) are added to the electrolyte solution to improve its conductivity. Understandably, the simple alcohols provide high current densities due to their facile oxidation kinetics, while the more complex molecules (such as glucose and glycerol) have lower current densities due to slower kinetics and diffusion . The long‐term operational stability was demonstrated using 1 m lactic acid and is shown in Figure S4 (Supporting Information) where no additional fuel was added after initial injection.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced Biowaste‐Based Flexible Photocatalytic Fuel Cell as a Green Wearable Power Generator

Lui

Jiang

Lenos

et al. 2016

Adv Materials Technologies

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This study designs a wearable power generator from a flexible, photocatalytic fuel cell (fPFC) using various biowaste sources (lactic acid, ethanol, methanol, urea, glycerol, and glucose) as fuel. The fPFC uses light irradiation and the decomposition of biowaste to generate electrical power under both flat and bending (r = 3 cm) conditions. When employed as a sweat band, the fPFC generates a maximum power 4.0 mW cm−2 g−1 from human sweat. The wearable fPFC is able to overcome many of the disadvantages of wearable microbial and enzymatic cells while providing comparable if not superior power density.

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Performance characteristics of a membraneless solar responsive photocatalytic fuel cell with an air-breathing cathode under different fuels and electrolytes and air conditions

Cited by 63 publications

References 25 publications

Photoelectrocatalytic H2 and H2O2 Production Using Visible-Light-Absorbing Photoanodes

Photoelectrocatalytic H2 and H2O2 Production Using Visible-Light-Absorbing Photoanodes

A Realistic Approach for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production

Advanced Biowaste‐Based Flexible Photocatalytic Fuel Cell as a Green Wearable Power Generator

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