The Effect Of A Novel P-N Tio2/Cu2O/Ito Composite Junction Versus A Cu2O/Ito Junction Created Using Electron Beam Evaporation On A Shewanella Oneidensis Mr-1 Powered Microbial Coupled Photoelectrochemical Fuel Cell

Krishna Gorrepati

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

12th Grade

Presentation Topic

Physics

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Oral Presentation Award

1st Place

Written Paper Award

1st Place

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) show promise as a renewable energy source that can generate electricity through microbes but suffer from low power densities. A photocathode or photoelectrochemical cell is proposed to be substituted with the cathodic electrode in a MFC to create a microbial photoelectrochemical cell (MPC). It was hypothesized that a novel TiO2/Cu2O/ITO composite photocathode would provide greater voltage outputs when compared to those of a plain Cu2O photocathode developed by Qian, Wang, and Li (2010) or an ITO glass cathodic electrode. The stability of TiO2 with the wide absorption spectrum of Cu2O would increase efficiency because the composite band gap setup correlates to an npn transistor and includes p-n junctions. Twenty and thirty trials were conducted for the plain Cu2O/ITO MPCs and the TiO2/Cu2O/ITO composite MPCs respectively. In each trial, the voltage output was collected every minute for one week. Using a two-sample t-Test with the means, the results indicated that Cu2O/ITO MPCs and novel MPCs were significantly different: t(48)=16.04, p <0.001. The novel MPC provided a 800% increase in voltage outputs when compared to those of the Cu2O/ITO MPCs and had greater Q1, median, mean, and Q3 values. Based off the results, a scalable single cell MPC prototype was produced that could generate electricity using waste from wastewater plants. As the power density of MPCs continue to increase, they can eventually become a scalable and reliable form of green energy.

Location

Owens 104

Start Date

4-16-2016 10:45 AM

COinS
 
Apr 16th, 10:45 AM

The Effect Of A Novel P-N Tio2/Cu2O/Ito Composite Junction Versus A Cu2O/Ito Junction Created Using Electron Beam Evaporation On A Shewanella Oneidensis Mr-1 Powered Microbial Coupled Photoelectrochemical Fuel Cell

Owens 104

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) show promise as a renewable energy source that can generate electricity through microbes but suffer from low power densities. A photocathode or photoelectrochemical cell is proposed to be substituted with the cathodic electrode in a MFC to create a microbial photoelectrochemical cell (MPC). It was hypothesized that a novel TiO2/Cu2O/ITO composite photocathode would provide greater voltage outputs when compared to those of a plain Cu2O photocathode developed by Qian, Wang, and Li (2010) or an ITO glass cathodic electrode. The stability of TiO2 with the wide absorption spectrum of Cu2O would increase efficiency because the composite band gap setup correlates to an npn transistor and includes p-n junctions. Twenty and thirty trials were conducted for the plain Cu2O/ITO MPCs and the TiO2/Cu2O/ITO composite MPCs respectively. In each trial, the voltage output was collected every minute for one week. Using a two-sample t-Test with the means, the results indicated that Cu2O/ITO MPCs and novel MPCs were significantly different: t(48)=16.04, p <0.001. The novel MPC provided a 800% increase in voltage outputs when compared to those of the Cu2O/ITO MPCs and had greater Q1, median, mean, and Q3 values. Based off the results, a scalable single cell MPC prototype was produced that could generate electricity using waste from wastewater plants. As the power density of MPCs continue to increase, they can eventually become a scalable and reliable form of green energy.