Photoelectrochemical Complete Decomposition of Cellulose for Electric Power Generation

Abstract

A photo-assisted fuel cell (photofuel cell; PFC) consisting of a porous TiO 2 photoanode and a Pt cathode in an aqueous electrolyte containing an organic fuel has been developed to generate an electric power by photoelectrochemically decomposing the fuel. Although direct utilization of cellulose as a fuel should be preferable, photocatalytic direct decomposition of cellulose, polymeric macromolecules, has been rarely reported. In the present study, a cellulose thin film deposited onto the TiO 2 photoanode was used as the fuel. It was revealed that the cellulose was decomposed into CO 2 through small carbonyl hydrocarbon intermediates. The complete decomposition of cellulose into CO 2 implies that almost all the Gibbs free energy of cellulose can be converted into an electric power with the assistance of the photon energy. The PFC composed of the cellulose-deposited TiO 2 and Pt-deposited Ni foam exhibited excellent photovoltaic performances (1.1 V of photovoltage and quantum efficiency up to 52 %). The present study should represent a potential means of electric power generation based on renewable energy sources by effectively treating waste biomass.

Insights into the Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Cellulose in Solution toward Applications in Direct Cellulose Fuel Cells

“…HPLC analyses after the dissolution and precipitation of the cellulose found small amounts of water-soluble organic acids in the NaOH solution after the cellulose was removed. , These comprised oxidized derivatives of glucose ( e.g. , glucuronic acid) as well as short-chain carboxylic acids ( e.g.…”

“…To further clarify the reaction mechanisms, the effects of electrode potential on the reaction products were elucidated using a Pt/Ni foam , as the anode (Figure a,b). In these trials, the residual cellulose and the electrolyte composition were assessed using FTIR and HPLC, respectively, after electrolysis.…”

“…In the trials using a three-electrode configuration, a commercially available reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) loaded with 2–8 M NaOH was added as the reference electrode. The anolyte and catholyte were separated by a cation-exchange membrane (ASTOM) in the two-chamber cell . During the measurements, the anolyte and catholyte were purged with Ar and O 2 , respectively.…”

“…In addition, the pristine cellulose particles or the regenerated cellulose specimens were pressed into KBr pellets and spectra were obtained using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy (Shimadzu, IRPrestige-21). The water-soluble intermediate products were identified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after each electrolysis trial. , In these experiments, residual cellulose was removed from the electrolyte by first neutralizing the electrolyte with aqueous HCl, after which the solid component was separated by centrifugation. The neutralized electrolyte was then filtered through a hydrophilic nylon filter with a 0.22 μm pore size to remove fine particles, and 20 μL of the specimen was injected into an HPLC system (Shimadzu, Shimadzu Prominence LC-20A) equipped with an ultraviolet–visible detector (Shimadzu, SPD-20A) and a Rezex RHM-Monosaccharide column (Phenomenex, HPX-87H, 300 × 7.8 mm).…”

Degradation of Diclofenac in Urine by Electro-Permanganate Process Driven by Microbial Fuel Cells

“…•− ) (Equations ( 1)-(4) [30][31][32]) for accelerating the removal of organic contaminants in situ in the cathode chamber [33,34]. Moreover, photocatalytic oxidation technology combined with bio-electricity was also utilized to removal contaminants in the cathode chamber [27,35]. Hence, in the E-PM process, bio-electricity might also replace traditional power to catalyze PM in situ for enhancing the degradation of organic contaminants in the cathode chamber via the generation of active species.…”