The performance and mechanism of modified activated carbon air cathode by non-stoichiometric nano Fe3O4 in the microbial fuel cell.
Cathodic catalyst is one of the key materials in microbial fuel cell (MFC). The addition of non-stoichiometric nano Fe3O4 in activated carbon (NSFe3O4/AC) air cathode was beneficial to boosting the charge transfer of the cathode accompanying with the enhancement of power performance in MFC. The air cathode modified by NSFe3O4 (5%, Wt%) increased the maximum power density by 83.3% from 780 mW/m(2) to 1430 mW/m(2) compared with bare air cathode. The modified cathodes showed enhanced electrochemical properties and appeared the maximum exchange current density of 18.71×10(-4) A/cm(2) for oxygen reduction reaction. The mechanism of oxygen reduction for the NSFe3O4/AC catalyst was a 4-electron pathway. The oxygen vacancy of the NSFe3O4 played a crucial role in electrochemical catalytic activity. The great catalytic performance made NSFe3O4 have a promising outlook applied in MFC.
The College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
Zhou
Z
Fu
Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, U.S.A.
Litao
L
Yan
The College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China. Electronic address: likx@nankai.edu.cn.
Kexun
K
Li
The College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
Baochao
B
Ge
The College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
Liangtao
L
Pu
The College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
Xi
X
Zhang
D000388:Air; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004566:Electrodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D004579:Electron Transport; D004735:Energy Transfer; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure
D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D002244:Carbon
Air cathode; Electron transfer; Microbial fuel cell; Non-stoichiometric Fe(3)O(4); Oxygen reduction reaction; Oxygen vacancy