Abstract:
The photoelectrocatalytic cell (PEC) prototype combined with a solar cell was developed for the organic dye wastewater treatment. FTO/WO[Subscript3]/BiVO[Subscript4] electrode fabrication was studied by the dip coating method. The crystalline structure, morphology, chemical composition, and light absorption were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis spectroscopy technique, respectively.
The photoelectrocatalytic cell was designed by using the fabricated FTO/WO3/BiVO4 electrode as a photoanode electrode in combination with a solar cell system. The solar cell system can assist by applying potential for a battery charger with the circuit designed. The efficiency of dye degradation was monitored by UV/Vis spectrophotometry and COD measurement.
The effects of the electrode amount, an applied potential, pH value, a type of cathode electrode, and catalytic dye mechanism of degradation were studied. The optimum condition for using 4 anode electrodes contains an applied potential = 2.0V, pH = 3 and stainless steel as cathode electrode under visible irradiation which can degrade methylene blue, and rhodamine B dyes up to 94 Percent and 93 Percent in 3 hours, respectively. Moreover, the developed PEC cell can also be applied to degrade real dye wastewater from the industrial factories and can degrade up to 90 Percent in 7 hours. Furthermore, it can reduce COD over 80 Percent and is able to confirm high efficiency of PEC cell for organic dye decomposing to CO2 and H2O. Therefore, it is appropriate to further develop a large system for dye wastewater treatment in the industrial system.