| Budget Amount *help |
¥5,590,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,290,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
Fiscal Year 2012: ¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Allophane-modified titania electrodes for photofuel cells were prepared from titanium alkoxide sols dispersing the natural clay mineral allophane. The photocatalytic reaction and electrochemical analyses indicated that the oxidative degradation of glucose and starch as fuel materials in the solutions and suspensions enhanced the generation of electricity during UV irradiation. A higher photocurrent was observed using the allophane-modified titania electrode adsorbing a greater amount of the starch molecules. Allophane increased the capacity of the electrode to adsorb the fuel molecules. This brought the molecules close to the titania nanoparticles, on which their oxidation induced the generation of electricity. Based on the relationships of the photocurrent density to glucose concentration and UV irradiation power, it is suggested that dispersion process of the glucose molecules adsorbed on the allophane to the titania was the rate-determining step in the present system.
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