Degradation characteristics of formic acid were investigated by photoelectrocatalytic oxidation in order to solve the defects of photocatalysis. For this purpose, working electrode was manufactured for photoelectrocatalysis and analyzed physical properties.
Mesoporous TiO2 & P25 coated ITO glass, TiO2-graphite composite and TiO2 coated graphite plate were manufactured for photoelectrocatalysis using various substrates and binder. We made the composite and plate method instead of the existing sol-gel method. Working electrode showed the highest conductivity and formic acid degradation when the conducting binder and polymer are used.
Working electrode shows that formic acid degradation efficiency has increased by 55 percent above in pH3, UV light intensity 2.0 mW/cm2 and applied potential +1.0 V. Photoelectrocatalytic(PEC) oxidation has been proven to be more efficient than Photocatalytic oxidation(PC) because TiO2 electrode for photoelectrocatalysis can extend the lifetime of holes by suppressing the electron-hole recombination.
From these results, it can concluded that photoelectrocatalytic oxidation showed higher efficiency than photocatalytic oxidation in cost and efficiency aspect.
