A novel visible-light responsive photocatalytic fuel cell with a heterostructured BiVO4/WO3 photoanode and a Pt/C air-breathing cathode

A series of heterostructured BiVO4/WO3 photoanodes were successfully prepared via a two-step method of hydrothermal deposition and impregnation. The optimized BiVO4/WO3 sample showed the highest photocurrent density of similar to 880 mu A/cm(2) at 0.8 V (vs Ag/AgCI) in 0.1 M KH2PO4 aqueous solution (pH 7) under simulated AM1.5 illumination. The optimized BiVO4/WO3 photoanode was coupled with a Pt/C air-breathing cathode to build up a visible-light responsive PFC system. The as-prepared PFC system showed outstanding photoelectrocatalytic performances in converting organics into electricity, and when glucose was used as the 'fuel', the maximum power density (P-max) and the short-circuit current density (I-sc) were 8.58 mu W/cm(2) and 91.8 mu A/cm(2), respectively. Degradation experiments showed that the removal rate of tetracycline hydrochloride in PFC with BiVO4/WO3 photoanode and Pt/C air-breathing cathode was similar to 87.2% in 8 h, which was much higher than photolysis and photocatalysis process. The mechanism responsible for the enhanced photoelectrocatalytic performance of the as-prepared PFC system was also discussed. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.