Photodecomposition of amino acids and photocurrent generation on TiO2/OTE electrodes prepared by pulse laser deposition

The photoelectrical degradation of the amino acids L-aspartic acid (L-Asp), L-glutamic acid (L-Glu), L-leucine (L-Leu), L-alpha-alanine (L-alpha-Ala) and beta-alanine (beta-Ala) was examined on TiO2/OTE electrodes prepared by a pulse laser deposition method. The disappearance of amino acids and their mineralization into CO2 were determined with and without an applied anionic bias of 0.3 V. The generation of photocurrent was also measured during the photoelectrical degradation of substrates on the TiO2/OTE electrode assembly considering it as a possible type of solar cell. The relationship between the photoelectrodegradation rate, the photocurrent and the structure of the amino acids was established.