One-Step Self-Assembled WO₃/rGO Microspheres Photoanode Assembled Efficient Photocatalytic Fuel Cells for Simultaneous Organic Pollutant Degradation and Electricity Generation

Photocatalytic fuel cells (PFCs) present a promising and environmentally friendly approach to simultaneously treat organic pollutants in wastewater and electricity generation. The development of photoanodes with high light absorption and carrier mobility is essential for enhancing the performance of PFCs but remains challenging. Herein, a one-step self-assembly strategy was adopted to develop flower-like WO₃/rGO microspheres for PFC devices. Attributed to the abundant surface-active sites, enhanced light harvesting, and efficient separation of photogenerated charge carriers, the WO₃/rGO photoanode demonstrated superior rhodamine B (RhB) degradation rate (90% in 2 h), maximum power density (4.74 μW/cm²), and maximum photocurrent density (0.096 mA/cm²), 1.4, 2.4, and 4.0 times higher than the corresponding pure WO₃ photoanode, respectively. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the built-in electric field formed between the interface of WO₃ and rGO promotes the transfer of photogenerated electrons from WO₃ to rGO, thus exerting a significant impact on improving the migration and separation of photoinduced charge carriers. Moreover, by combining experimental and theoretical results, a complete PFC operation mechanism for the PFC system was proposed. This study focuses on the strategy of constructing rGO-doped photocatalysts to enhance the interfacial charge transfer mechanism, providing a promising approach for the development of high-performance photoanodes in PFC systems.