Efficient rhodamine B degradation and stable electricity generation performance of visible-light photocatalytic fuel cell with g-C3N4/WO3/TiO2/Ti photoanode

The performance of photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) is mainly determined by photoanode. In order to reduce the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs and extend the light response wavelength, g-C3N4/WO3/TiO2/Ti photoanode was successfully fabricated by mixed sol-gel dipping method. Its maximum photocurrent density is 2.27 mA center dot cm(-2) at 1.1 V (vs. SCE), which is 1.64 and 1.57 times that of WO3/TiO2/Ti and g-C3N4/TiO2/Ti, respectively. The maximum power density, short circuit current density, and RhB degradation efficiency of PFC with g-C3N4/WO3/TiO2/Ti-Cu photoanode and Cu cathode are 19.35 mu W center dot cm(-2), 0.20 mA center dot cm(-2), and 87.7%, respectively. The excellent performance of PFC is mainly attributed to the fact that TiO2/Ti is co-doped with g-C3N4 and WO3, which greatly expands its light absorption range, strengthen its light absorption intensity, and improves its carrier mobility.

Automated summary

The performance of the photocatalytic fuel cell is mainly determined by the photoanode, and the g-C3N4/WO3/TiO2/Ti photoanode significantly improves the maximum photocurrent density. The excellent performance is mainly attributed to the co-doping of TiO2/Ti with g-C3N4 and WO3, which expands the light absorption range and improves carrier mobility.