The energy crisis and environmental pollution currently represent a substantial impediment. For the first time, we constructed an electricity and H2O2 cogeneration-pollutant degradation integrated system based on a Zn–air battery with polyterthiophene (pTTh) as photo-enhanced electrocatalysts for the highly efficient catalysis of the 2e oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). This integrated system manifested a high peak power density of 253.5 μW cm−2 at 195.0 μA cm−2 as well as a high H2O2 production rate of 34.8 mg L−1 h−1. Simultaneously, the superoxide (O2˙) and hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) resulting from the decomposition of the in situ generated H2O2 could be used as oxidants to degrade the pollutant, as demonstrated in the succeeding sections as appropriate. The removal rate of RhB increased to almost 100% in the discharging process of this integrated system for 1 h. This work provides a proof-of-concept for applications combining energy conversion with wastewater treatment technologies.
