Eminent destruction of organics and pathogens concomitant with power generation in a visible light-responsive photocatalytic fuel cell with NiFe2O4/ZnO pine tree-like photoanode and CuO/Cu2O nanorod cathode

Sze-Mun Lam; Jin-Chung Sin; Meng Wei Warren Tong; Honghu Zeng; Haixaing Li; Liangliang Huang; Hua Lin; Jun-Wei Lim

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140402

Eminent destruction of organics and pathogens concomitant with power generation in a visible light-responsive photocatalytic fuel cell with NiFe₂O₄/ZnO pine tree-like photoanode and CuO/Cu₂O nanorod cathode

Chemosphere. 2023 Dec:344:140402. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140402. Epub 2023 Oct 12.

Authors

Sze-Mun Lam¹, Jin-Chung Sin², Meng Wei Warren Tong³, Honghu Zeng⁴, Haixaing Li⁵, Liangliang Huang⁵, Hua Lin⁵, Jun-Wei Lim⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Water Pollution Control and Water Safety in Karst Area, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia. Electronic address: lamsm@utar.edu.my.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Water Pollution Control and Water Safety in Karst Area, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia.
³ Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia.
⁴ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Water Pollution Control and Water Safety in Karst Area, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China. Electronic address: zenghonghu@glut.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Water Pollution Control and Water Safety in Karst Area, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China.
⁶ HICoE-Centre for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia; Department of Biotechnology, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, India.

PMID: 37838031
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140402

Abstract

Environmental conservation and energy scarcity have become two core challenges with the ever-increasing advancement of industry, particularly chemical energy rich wastewater comprising refractory organics and pathogenic microbes. Here, a multifunctional photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) was devised using NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticle-loaded on pine tree-like ZnO/Zn (NiFe₂O₄/ZnO/Zn) photoanode and CuO/Cu₂O nanorods-loaded on Cu (CuO/Cu₂O/Cu) cathode for extracting electricity upon wastewater treatment. When fed with Rhodamine B (RhB) dyestuff, the NiFe₂O₄/ZnO/Zn-PFC provided the maximum power density (P_max) of 0.539 mW cm^-2 upon visible light irradiation with an average RhB degradation of 85.2%, which were 2.8 and 2.7 times higher than ZnO/Zn, respectively. The remarkable enhanced NiFe₂O₄/ZnO/Zn-PFC performance was owing to the synergistic effect of pine tree-like structure and Z-scheme heterostructure. The pine tree-like with high surface area was not only for effective harnessing photon energies but also provided more directional routes for rapid segregation and transport of carriers and higher interface contacting areas with electrolyte. Through a series of systematic characterizations, the Z-scheme heterostructure mechanism of the system and organics degradation pathway were also speculated. Additionally, the performance of the NiFe₂O₄/ZnO/Zn-PFC in industry printing wastewater showed P_max of 0.600 mW cm^-2, which was considerably impressive as real wastewater was challenging to accomplish. The phytotoxicity outcome also manifested that the comprehensive toxicity of RhB was eradicated after PFC treatment. Lastly, the excellent recyclability and the pronounced bactericidal effect towards Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were other attributions which enabled the NiFe₂O₄/ZnO/Zn-PFC for possible practical application.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity; CuO/Cu(2)O; Electricity production; NiFe(2)O(4)/ZnO; Photocatalytic fuel cell.

MeSH terms

Electrodes
Light
Nanotubes*
Wastewater
Zinc Oxide* / chemistry

Substances

Zinc Oxide
Wastewater
cupric oxide