Background
Photoelectrocatalytic processes (PECs) combine photocatalysis and electrochemical principles to enhance charge carrier generation and stability within nanomaterials (NMs). Nano-enabled PECs can be used for water purification or hydrogen production applications. Current PEC designs face challenges due to low energy efficiencies, because most reactor designs orientate light sources perpendicular to flat photocatalyst-coated electrode surfaces, and must pass through glass materials and water. There is a need for an effective PEC reactor design to maximize energy efficiency of light delivery to activate photocatalysts.
Invention Description
Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a new physically flexible catalytic polymer optical fiber (POF) architecture, made from optoelectrode fibers. This architecture is embedded with electrically conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) nanomaterials and perovskite visible-photocatalysts in the surface layer of Nafion-PVDF polymers. This architecture has a significantly larger (greater than 6000%) surface area than flat glass electrodes. In initial tests, this architecture achieved over 90% organic pollutant removal in water, and over 300% better incident photon-to-current than the same materials deposited on a conventional flat glass plate under low energy irradiation.
Potential Applications:
- Water purification
- Hydrogen production
Benefits and Advantages:
- Nanomaterials are permanently attached to optoelectrode – allows dissolved pollutants in water to diffuse in and out of the pores as it becomes oxidized
- Significantly larger (greater than 6000%) surface area than flat glass electrodes
- High pollutant removal (over 90%)
- Improved energy efficiency (300% better incident photon-to-current)
- Flexible fiber platform