A co-doped oxygen reduction catalyst with FeCu promotes the stability of microbial fuel cells

Han Li; HuiHui Shi; Yi Dai; HengHui You; Samuel Raj Babu Arulmani; Hongguo Zhang; Chunhua Feng; Lei Huang; Tianyu Zeng; Jia Yan; Xianjie Liu

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2022.07.068

A co-doped oxygen reduction catalyst with FeCu promotes the stability of microbial fuel cells

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2022 Dec 15;628(Pt A):652-662. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.07.068. Epub 2022 Jul 14.

Authors

Han Li¹, HuiHui Shi², Yi Dai², HengHui You², Samuel Raj Babu Arulmani², Hongguo Zhang³, Chunhua Feng⁴, Lei Huang², Tianyu Zeng², Jia Yan², Xianjie Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; The Key Lab of Enhanced Heat Transfer and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China.
² Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, PR China.
³ Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Guangzhou University-Linköping University Research Center on Urban Sustainable Development, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, PR China. Electronic address: hgzhang@gzhu.edu.cn.
⁴ The Key Lab of Enhanced Heat Transfer and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China.
⁵ Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, Norrköping 60174, Sweden.

PMID: 35940149
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.07.068

Abstract

Air cathode microbial fuel cell (AC-MFC) cannot be used on a large scale because of its low oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) efficiency. Despite the fact that bimetallic catalysts can greatly enhance the oxygen reduction rate by regulating the electronic structure of the active site, the flaws of insufficient exposure of the active site and easy metal agglomeration limit its catalytic activity. Herein, we report on the preparation of a stable heteroatomic substrate using a copper material organic framework as a precursor, covered by Fe-based active sites. As a result of dipole-dipole interactions, the reduced product Fe²⁺ forms a weak Fe-O surface that is conducive to the adsorption of active substances. The presence of Fe⁰ enhances the electrical conductivity of the catalytic, thus promoting ORR efficiency. Through redox coupling, the D-band center of Fe at FeCu@CN is optimized and brought close to the Fermi level to facilitate electron transfer. Notably, FeCu@CN demonstrates a superior power density of 2796.23 ± 278.58 mW m^-3, far exceeding that of Pt/C (1363.93 ± 102.56 mW m^-3), in the application of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Meanwhile, the MFC-loaded FeCu@CN maintains excellent stability and outstanding output voltage after 1000 h, which provides feasibility for large-scale application.

Keywords: Bimetallic co-doped material; D-band center; Microbial fuel cells; Oxygen reduction reaction; Stability.

MeSH terms

Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Carbon / chemistry
Copper
Electrodes
Nitrogen / chemistry
Oxygen / chemistry

Substances

Carbon
Copper
Nitrogen
Oxygen