A Highly Efficient Catalyst toward Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Neutral Media for Microbial Fuel Cells

作者：Su, Yunhe; Zhu, Yihua^*; Yang, Xiaoling; Shen, Jianhua; Lu, Jindan; Zhang, Xiaoyan; Chen, Jianding; Li, Chunzhong

来源：Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2013, 52(18): 6076-6082.

DOI：10.1021/ie4003766

• NITROGEN-DOPED GRAPHENE
• HIGH ELECTROCATALYTIC ACTIVITY
• FUNCTIONALIZED GRAPHENE
• IRON PHTHALOCYANINE
• CARBON NANOTUBE
• QUANTUM DOTS
• OXIDE SHEETS
• PERFORMANCE
• COMPOSITE
• ARRAYS

A nanocomposite of cobaltosic oxide and nitrogen-doped graphene (Co3O4/N-G) was prepared by the facile hydrothermal method. Morphology characterizations show that the Co3O4 nanoparticles with crystalline spinel structure are uniformly dispersed on the nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets, and the graphene weight fraction in Co3O4/N-G composite is estimated to be similar to 20%. Meanwhile, electrochemical measurements reveal that the as-prepared Co3O4/N-G nanocomposite exhibits a high catalytic activity and long-term stability in neutral electrolyte. Moreover, the use of Co3O4/N-G as cathode catalyst for oxygen reduction in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to produce electricity was also investigated. The obtained maximum power density was 1340 +/- 10 mW m(-2), which was as high as almost four times that of the plain cathode (340 +/- 10 mW m(-2)), and only slightly lower than that of a commercial Pt/C catalyst (1470 +/- 10 mW m(-2)). All the results prove that a Co3O4/N-G hybrid can be a good alternative to platinum catalysts for practical MFC applications.

• 出版日期2013-5-8
• 单位华东理工大学