This paper reports the photoelectrocatalytic activities of a ruthenated porphyrin [Ru(phen)(2)(IP-C4OTPP)](2+) (denoted as Ru(II) PTPP, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, IP = imidazo[4,5-f][1,10] phenanthroline and TPP = 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin) containing a covalently-linked butoxy chain (-C4O-) between IP and TPP moieties by means of various electrochemical techniques in combination with absorption spectroscopy and scanning electronic microscopy. Ru(II) PTPP is assembled on the surface of CdS nanoparticles, showing two Ru(II)-based peaks at 0.296V and 0.830 V, where uric acid (UA) can be photoelectrocatalytically oxidized in a linear range of 0.01-10.0mmolL(-1). The -C4O- chain endows the Ru(II) PTPP/carbon felt (CF) electrode with favorable dioxygen (O-2) binding sites to achieve a couple of new redox peaks at -0.213 V, where O-2 involves electrocatalytic reduction reactions. While employing 5.0mmolL(-1) UA as fuel, and 60mLmin(-1) O-2 as oxidant, the proposed photoelectrochemical fuel cell shows open-circuit photovoltage of 0.656 V, short-circuit photocurrent density of 0.136mAcm(-2), and maximum power density of 31.50mWcm(-2) at 0.497V under visible-light illumination of 0.18mWcm(-2). The present study provides an interesting platform for the utilization of renewable energy sources. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.