Chun Hong Mak, Yong Peng, Man Hin Chong, Li Yu, Minshu Du, Li Ji, Xingli Zou, Guizheng Zou, Hsin-Hui Shen, Shella Permatasari Santoso, Wenxin Niu, Fang-Fang Li, Hsien-Yi Hsu
A promising method to boost the effectiveness of bioelectrochemical systems is to combine the light-harvesting properties of semiconductors with the catalytic strength of bacteria. Here, we demonstrate the improved photocurrents generated by the interaction of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and a hematite nanowire-arrayed photoanode in a solar-assisted microbial photoelectrochemical cell (S-MPEC) under visible light. The S-MPEC uses the technology of bioelectrochemical cells and photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) for enhancing the degradation of pollutants from wastewater treatment under irradiation. The bare Fe2O3 photoelectrode exhibits a photocurrent of 1.093 A m−2 at 0.8 V under visible light, whereas the Fe2O3-MR-1 biophotoelectrode exhibits a higher photocurrent of 1.605 A m−2. With visible light exposure at an intensity of less than 100 mW cm−2, the power densities of the Fe2O3 photoelectrode system with and without coating the MR-1 bacteria are 1.284 W m−2 and 0.872 W m−2, respectively. Besides, based on the study of the heterogeneous electron transfer kinetics, the reduction and oxidation reactions of Fe2O3-MR-1 exhibit more efficient diffusion coefficients with enhanced rate constants. These findings demonstrate a significant impact on degradation performance induced by photoexcited charge carriers in a complicated hybrid electricigen system, which is critical for the development of a S-MPEC for waste degradation. © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry
School of Energy and Environment & Department of Materials Science and Engineering & Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP), City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Shenzhen Research Institute of City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 518057, China; Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shaanxi, Xi’an, 710072, China; State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China; State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200072, China; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, 3800, VIC, Australia; Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Widya Mandala Surabaya Catholic University, Kalijudan No. 37, East Java, Surabaya, 60114, Indonesia; State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences 5625 Renmin Street, Jilin, Changchun, 130022, China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430074, China