title: Polyelectrolyte-single wall carbon nanotube composite as an effective cathode catalyst for air-cathode microbial fuel cells.
abstract: Polyelectrolyte-single wall carbon nanotube (SCNT) composites are prepared by a solution-based method and used as metal-free cathode catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, two types of polyelectrolytes, polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) and poly[bis(2-chloroethyl)ether-alt-1,3-bis[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]urea] (PEPU) are applied to decorate the SCNTs and the resulting catalysts exhibit remarkable catalytic ability toward ORR in MFC applications. The enhanced catalytic ability could be attributed to the positively charged quaternary ammonium sites of polyelectrolytes, which increase the oxygen affinity of SCNTs and reduce activation energy in the oxygen reduction process. It is also found that PEPU-SCNT composite-based MFCs show efficient performance with maximum power density of 270.1 mW m(-2), comparable to MFCs with the benchmark Pt/C catalyst (375.3 mW m(-2)), while PDDA-SCNT composite-based MFCs produce 188.9 mW m(-2). These results indicate that PEPU-SCNT and PDDA-SCNT catalysts are promising candidates as metal-free cathode catalysts for ORR in MFCs and could facilitate MFC scaling up and commercialization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543, Singapore E-mail: chmlifys@nus.edu.sg *These authors contributed equally to this work; NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 5A Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117411, Singapore.
authors.forename: Huanan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543, Singapore E-mail: chmlifys@nus.edu.sg *These authors contributed equally to this work.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543, Singapore E-mail: chmlifys@nus.edu.sg *These authors contributed equally to this work.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543, Singapore E-mail: chmlifys@nus.edu.sg *These authors contributed equally to this work.
authors.forename: Leonard Guan Hong
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Bay
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602, Singapore.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 5A Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117411, Singapore; Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Eco-efficient Polysilicate Materials, School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, China.
authors.forename: Sam Fong Yau
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D002384:Catalysis; D004566:Electrodes; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D011095:Polyethylenes / Q000737:chemistry; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D011095:Polyethylenes; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; C041004:poly-N,N-dimethyl-N,N-diallylammonium chloride; D010100:Oxygen