Peroxymonosulfate activated by photocatalytic fuel cell with g-C3N4/BiOI/Ti photoanode to enhance rhodamine B degradation and electricity generation

The development of traditional photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) is severely hindered by poor visible-light response and limited reaction space. In this study, a visible-light responsive PFC with g-C3N4/BiOI/Ti photoanode was proposed and applied to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to degrade rhodamine B. The degradation rate, maximum power density and maximum photocurrent density of the PMS/PFC system were respectively 95.39%, 103.87 μW cm−2 and 0.62 mA cm−2, which was respectively 1.28, 2.18, and 1.98 times that of PFC. The excellent performance is attributed to the production of more reactive oxygen species and the extension of the reaction space range after the activation of PMS. The activation pathway of PMS and charge transfer pathway of the photoanode were discussed in detail, and it was proposed that PMS was activated by Z-scheme heterojunction g-C3N4/BiOI/Ti photoanode. [Display omitted] •A g-C3N4/BiOI/Ti photoanode based on Z-scheme heterojunction was prepared for the first time.•PMS was activated by g-C3N4/BiOI/Ti under visible light irradiation.•The PMS/PFC showed excellent electricity generation and RhB degradation performance.•RhB degradation and electricity generation mechanism of PMS/PFC was explored.