Wang Chongyi, Liu Yuxin, Chen Rong, Zhu Xun, Ye Dingding, Yang Yang, Liao Qiang
Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400030, China; Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400030, China; Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
J Hazard Mater. 2023 Apr 5;447:130769. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.130769. Epub 2023 Jan 12.
In this work, a photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) with a gas diffusion TiO photoanode is proposed to directly convert chemical energy contained in volatile organic compounds into electricity by using solar energy. The gas diffusion TiO photoanode is prepared by coating TiO nanoparticles onto Ti mesh, whose intrinsic porous structure allows for gaseous pollutants to directly transfer inside the photoanode and thereby enhances mass transport. The feasibility of the developed gas diffusion photoanode is demonstrated by degrading toluene as a model gaseous pollutant. It is shown that the newly-developed PFC yields better electricity generation and toluene removal efficiency due to the enhanced mass transport of toluene and the eliminated interference of gas bubbles. The short-circuit current density and maximum power density of the PFC with a gas diffusion TiO photoanode (0.1 mA/cm and 0.02 mW/cm) are about 3.3 times and 4 times as those of the bubbling PFC (0.03 mA/cm and 0.005 mW/cm), respectively. Both the discharging performance and toluene removal efficiency increase with increasing the light intensity and electrolyte concentration, while there exists an optimal gas flow rate leading to the best performance. The present work provides an innovative strategy for clean processing of volatile organic compounds while recycling the contained chemical energy.
在本工作中，提出了一种具有气体扩散TiO光阳极的光催化燃料电池（PFC），用于利用太阳能将挥发性有机化合物中所含的化学能直接转化为电能。气体扩散TiO光阳极是通过将TiO纳米颗粒涂覆在Ti网上制备的，其固有的多孔结构允许气态污染物直接在光阳极内部转移，从而增强传质。通过将甲苯作为典型气态污染物进行降解，证明了所开发的气体扩散光阳极的可行性。结果表明，由于甲苯传质增强和气态气泡干扰消除，新开发的PFC产生了更好的发电性能和甲苯去除效率。具有气体扩散TiO光阳极的PFC的短路电流密度和最大功率密度（分别为0.1 mA/cm²和0.02 mW/cm²）分别约为鼓泡式PFC（0.03 mA/cm²和0.005 mW/cm²）的3.3倍和4倍。放电性能和甲苯去除效率均随光强和电解质浓度的增加而提高，同时存在一个导致最佳性能的最佳气体流速。本工作为挥发性有机化合物的清洁处理以及所含化学能的回收提供了一种创新策略。
