Preparation And Photoelectric Properties Of Pemiconductor Photoanode For Room-Temperature Photocatalytic Methanol Fuel Cell

At present,serious environmental problems and energy crisis have restricted the development of human beings.Therefore,it is a main task to develop clean and safe energy nowadays.It is well known that solar energy is a kind of renewable energy and one of the most reliable clean energy.So,scientists are working on finding a safe and efficient method to greatly improve energy efficiency.We designed a photocatalytic methanol fuel cell based on one-dimension TiO₂,ZnO,Fe₂O₃,TiO₂ microspheres and TiO₂?P25?photocathode material for efficient methanol oxidation reaction at room temperature.Photogenerated holes in semiconductor electrodes are involved in the oxidation of fuel molecules,which is actually the process of converting solar energy and chemical energy into electrical energy.TiO₂ and ZnO have similar energy band levels,which are considered as classical photoelectrocatalytic materials with strong separation ability for photogenerated charge carriers.?-Fe₂O₃ have much narrower band gap to utilize visible light,which have attracted much scientific interest in water oxidation recently.And the three semiconductors have suitable VB position to oxidize methanol to carbon dioxide.Main work includes:1.TiO₂,ZnO and Fe₂O₃ arrays nanorods were prepared by hydrothermal method on fluorine-doped tin oxide?FTO?conductive glass substrates.They were used as photoanodes for efficient methanol oxidation reaction at room temperature.Electro-chemical analysis along with Mott-Schottky equation and cyclic voltammetry?CV?revealed thermodynamic feasibility of charge transfer and methanol oxidation in the system.Time-resolved surface photovoltage?SPV?transient gave a dynamic information of photogenerated charge carriers.The ZnO-based photocatalytic methanol fuel cell got the maximum short-circuit current of 1.82 mA/cm²,and the open-circuit voltage is 1.12 V.TiO₂-based photocatalytic methanol fuel cell had an open-circuit voltage of 1.34 V.This study can convert solar energy and chemical energy into the electrical energy,and it provides a feasible method for solving the energy and environment problems in the future.2.Firstly,the porous TiO₂ microsphere was synthesized by hydrothermal method.The TiO₂ thin film electrode and TiO₂?P25?photoanodes materials were prepared on the FTO conductive glass substrate by doctor-blade method,which were used as photoanodes for efficient methanol oxidation reaction at room temperature.Photoelectrochemical tests were also performed.The maximum short circuit current based on the TiO₂?P25?photoanode is 3.65 mA/cm²,and the open circuit voltage is1.42 V based on the TiO₂ photoanode.