Wireless pulsed nanophotoelectrochemical cell for the ultrafast degradation of organic pollutants

An urgent demand exists for advanced-technologies to efficiently remove persistent organic pollutants from water, while minimizing energy consumption. Here, we introduce an innovative wireless nanophotoelectrochemical (nPEC) cell using pulsed light for the ultrafast degradation/mineralization of org...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Serrà, Albert|||0000-0003-0147-3400, Gomez, Elvira|||0000-0002-9223-6357, Al Hoda Al Bast, Nour, Zhang, Yue, Duque, Marcos, Esplandiu Egido, Maria José|||0000-0003-2079-0639, Esteve, Jaume|||0000-0001-9440-7984, Nogués, Josep|||0000-0003-4616-1371, Sepúlveda, Borja|||0000-0002-1562-7602
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:301375
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/301375
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.cej.2024.150663
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Nanophotoelectrochemical cell, wireless
Heterogeneous catalysis
Water decontamination
Advanced oxidation process
Peroxymonosulfate
Antibiotics
Biotoxins
Descripción
Sumario:An urgent demand exists for advanced-technologies to efficiently remove persistent organic pollutants from water, while minimizing energy consumption. Here, we introduce an innovative wireless nanophotoelectrochemical (nPEC) cell using pulsed light for the ultrafast degradation/mineralization of organic pollutants. The nPEC cell comprises a nanostructured Si-pn photodiode that monolithically integrates: (i) a Si-n/Au nanowire-based-photocathode for effective light absorption and photovoltage generation, and (ii) a Si-p/mesoporous-NiPt photoanode serving as catalyst to wirelessly amplify the sulfate radical production by low-intensity light without any bias voltage. The efficacy of the nPEC cell was shown by ultrafast degradation (>99 %) and mineralization (>98 %) of three emerging pollutants (tetracycline, levofloxacin and anatoxin-A). Notably, reaction kinetics were boosted by more than one order of magnitude when exposed to light intensities ca. 5-fold lower than sunlight. Remarkably, pulsed light beams in the 100-500 Hz range provided an additional enhancement in the degradation/mineralization efficiencies, reducing energy-input by half, while enhancing the catalyst's oxidation state and durability.