Characterization and properties of polypyrrole modified ZnIn2S4/TiO2/Ti photoanode in photocatalytic fuel cell

The performance of photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) depends on photoanode, which is the key to generate photoexcited carriers and degrade organic wastes. In this study, ZnIn 2 S 4 nano-bandgap semiconductor and polypyrrole were used to modify TiO 2 to prepare polypyrrole/ZnIn 2 S 4 /TiO 2 /Ti photoanode to increase its photo-response range and the separation of photoexcited carriers. The PFC with polypyrrole/ZnIn 2 S 4 /TiO 2 /Ti photoanode and copper cathode was built to degrade RhB and generate electricity. The RhB removal rate, open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, and maximum power density of the photocatalytic fuel cell were 94.6 % (1 h), 0.47 V, 0.23 mA cm −2 and 21.11 μW cm −2 , respectively. The improvement of PFC performance is attributed to the good visible-light responsive properties of polypyrrole/ZnIn 2 S 4 .The presence of polypyrrole acts as both an electron donor and a hole acceptor, which provides an ideal pathway for the separation and transmission of photogenerated carriers. The synergistic effect of polypyrrole, ZnIn 2 S 4 and TiO 2 eventually increases the photocatalytic ability of the PFC. This research can offer reference for the study of TiO 2 -based efficient visible light responsive PFC.