High efficient aqueous-film rotating disk photocatalytic fuel cell (RDPFC) with triple functions: Cogeneration of hydrogen and electricity with dye degradation

•We conducted a high efficient aqueous-film rotating disk photocatalytic fuel cell.•The system produced H2 and electricity simultaneously with the degradation of dye.•Compared with immersion cell, this system exhibited a satisfactory performance.•The system can run stably under high concentration of dye for a long-running process.

A high efficient aqueous-film rotating disk photocatalytic fuel cell (RDPFC) was proposed for the simultaneous production of hydrogen and electricity concomitantly with the degradation of high concentration dye wastewater. During the experimental period, the accumulation of hydrogen evolution increased linearly, the current intensity remained stable and the chemical oxygen demand decreased gradually in this RDPFC. Under the same condition, the hydrogen generation rate and the electric flow obtained in the RDPFC were 10 times higher than that of the conventional immersion reactor. The whole system operated steadily and exhibited good performance under a long-running process, and the accumulation of hydrogen were 27.9 and 26.2 mL by using 100 mg L−1 rhodamine B and 300 mg L−1 reactive brilliant red X-3B, respectively. The aqueous-film RDPFC represents a promising candidate for the concurrent function of the organic degradation and clean-energy production by utilizing the light energy and wastewater.

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