Carbon-Based Air-Breathing Cathodes for Microbial Fuel Cells
Carbon-Based Air-Breathing Cathodes for Microbial Fuel Cells
A comparison between different carbon-based gas-diffusion air-breathing cathodes for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is presented in this work. A micro-porous layer (MPL) based on carbon black (CB) and an activated carbon (AC) layer were used as catalysts and applied on different supporting materials, including carbon cloth (CC), carbon felt (CF), and stainless steel (SS) forming cathode electrodes for MFCs treating urine. Rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) analyses were done on CB and AC to: (i) understand the kinetics of the carbonaceous catalysts; (ii) evaluate the hydrogen peroxide production; and (iii) estimate the electron transfer. CB and AC were then used to fabricate electrodes. Half-cell electrochemical analysis, as well as MFCs continuous power performance, have been monitored. Generally, the current generated was higher from the MFCs with AC electrodes compared to the MPL electrodes, showing an increase between 34% and 61% in power with the AC layer comparing to the MPL. When the MPL was used, the supporting material showed a slight effect in the power performance, being that the CF is more powerful than the CC and the SS. These differences also agree with the electrochemical analysis performed. However, the different supporting materials showed a bigger effect in the power density when the AC layer was used, being the SS the most efficient, with a power generation of 65.6 mW·m−2, followed by the CC (54 mW·m−2) and the CF (44 mW·m−2).
air-breathing cathode, carbon electrodes, microbial fuel cells, oxygen reduction reaction
Merino-Jimenez, Irene
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Santoro, Carlo
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Rojas-Carbonell, Santiago
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Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
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Atanassov, Plamen
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September 2016
Merino-Jimenez, Irene
1ad3a49c-4b8f-4716-9887-a189243d5c9f
Santoro, Carlo
03549f6d-d57f-4d79-8bae-2d9271aa7371
Rojas-Carbonell, Santiago
d90cbeb9-65d7-4af1-b7f4-494b7fbbed4f
Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Atanassov, Plamen
a1fe7e9b-9386-448a-90a8-a870c3163922
Merino-Jimenez, Irene, Santoro, Carlo, Rojas-Carbonell, Santiago, Greenman, John, Ieropoulos, Ioannis and Atanassov, Plamen
(2016)
Carbon-Based Air-Breathing Cathodes for Microbial Fuel Cells.
Catalysts, 6 (9), [127].
(doi:10.3390/catal6090127).
Abstract
A comparison between different carbon-based gas-diffusion air-breathing cathodes for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is presented in this work. A micro-porous layer (MPL) based on carbon black (CB) and an activated carbon (AC) layer were used as catalysts and applied on different supporting materials, including carbon cloth (CC), carbon felt (CF), and stainless steel (SS) forming cathode electrodes for MFCs treating urine. Rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) analyses were done on CB and AC to: (i) understand the kinetics of the carbonaceous catalysts; (ii) evaluate the hydrogen peroxide production; and (iii) estimate the electron transfer. CB and AC were then used to fabricate electrodes. Half-cell electrochemical analysis, as well as MFCs continuous power performance, have been monitored. Generally, the current generated was higher from the MFCs with AC electrodes compared to the MPL electrodes, showing an increase between 34% and 61% in power with the AC layer comparing to the MPL. When the MPL was used, the supporting material showed a slight effect in the power performance, being that the CF is more powerful than the CC and the SS. These differences also agree with the electrochemical analysis performed. However, the different supporting materials showed a bigger effect in the power density when the AC layer was used, being the SS the most efficient, with a power generation of 65.6 mW·m−2, followed by the CC (54 mW·m−2) and the CF (44 mW·m−2).
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catalysts-06-00127
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Published date: September 2016
Additional Information:
This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Materials for Green Catalysis
Keywords:
air-breathing cathode, carbon electrodes, microbial fuel cells, oxygen reduction reaction
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 454043
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/454043
ISSN: 2073-4344
PURE UUID: 499ba632-cf0e-4ea9-bac4-911ed971d206
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Date deposited: 27 Jan 2022 19:18
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:10
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Contributors
Author:
Irene Merino-Jimenez
Author:
Carlo Santoro
Author:
Santiago Rojas-Carbonell
Author:
John Greenman
Author:
Plamen Atanassov
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