DING Hong-rui, LI Yan, LU An-huai, WANG Chang-qiu

(The Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 10087, China)

Abstract: Natural rutile exhibited good optical absorption and photoactivity in the range of visible light from 400 nm to 700 nm. This research united visible light photocatalysis of rutile and microbial reduction together with a dual-chamber reactor. Electrochemistry methods were used to analyze the reduction with a rutile-coated electrode under light condition. With natural rutile photocatalysis, system resistance decreased by 23.5% and power density increased by 57.1%, confirmed the improvement of reaction efficiency. Microbial reduction of oxygen at 0.70±0.1 V (vs. SCE) was strengthened with rutile photocatalysis. And a 93.05% decrease of reaction polarization resistance showed that the reduction was easier to occur in the kinetic level. The results proved that microbial reduction of electron acceptors was enhanced by rutile photocatalysis in visible light.

Key words: natural rutile; visible light; photocatalysis; microbial reduction; electrochemistry

E-mail: ahlu@pku.edu.cn

ACTA MINERALOGICA SINICA Vol. 31, No. 4, 2011, Page 629-633