LAUSR

Photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) is regarded as a promising and sustainable process for removal of organic contaminants from wastewater. Meanwhile, enzymatic catalysis also provides an effective way to the polluted environment remediation under mild circumstances. Herein, we designed a biophotoelectrocatalytic (BPEC) system to remove 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) based on the synergy between PEC and enzymatic catalysis. The developed BPEC system was constructed with a Ag3PO4/BiVO4 photoanode and a horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-loaded carbon cloth (CC) cathode. On the photoanode, the construction of direct Z-scheme Ag3PO4/BiVO4 heterojunction facilitated the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers, which promoted the PEC degradation of 4-NP under visible light irradiation. After HRP was immobilized on the cathode, the degradation efficiency of 4-NP reached 97.1% after 60-min PEC treatment. The result could be ascribed to the HRP-catalyzed oxidation reaction via in-situ generated H2O2 from CC cathode during PEC process. Moreover, the possible degradation pathways of 4-NP in such a BPEC system were discussed.