title: Bifunctional Ag/Fe/N/C Catalysts for Enhancing Oxygen Reduction via Cathodic Biofilm Inhibition in Microbial Fuel Cells.
abstract: Limitation of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in single-chamber microbial fuel cells (SC-MFCs) is considered an important hurdle in achieving their practical application. The cathodic catalysts faced with a liquid phase are easily primed with the electrolyte, which provides more surface area for bacterial overgrowth, resulting in the difficulty in transporting protons to active sites. Ag/Fe/N/C composites prepared from Ag and Fe-chelated melamine are used as antibacterial ORR catalysts for SC-MFCs. The structure-activity correlations for Ag/Fe/N/C are investigated by tuning the carbonization temperature (600-900 °C) to clarify how the active-constituents of Ag/Fe and N-species influence the antibacterial and ORR activities. A maximum power density of 1791 mW m(-2) is obtained by Ag/Fe/N/C (630 °C), which is far higher than that of Pt/C (1192 mW m(-2)), only having a decline of 16.14% after 90 days of running. The Fe-bonded N and the cooperation of pyridinic N and pyrrolic N in Ag/Fe/N/C contribute equally to the highly catalytic activity toward ORR. The ·OH or O2(-) species originating from the catalysis of O2 can suppress the biofilm growth on Ag/Fe/N/C cathodes. The synergistic effects between the Ag/Fe heterojunction and N-species substantially contribute to the high power output and Coulombic efficiency of Ag/Fe/N/C catalysts. These new antibacterial ORR catalysts show promise for application in MFCs.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, China.|School of Civil Engineering, Heilongjiang Institute of Technology , Harbin 150050, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, China.|Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering Process and Technology for High-Efficiency Conversion, College of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Yingzi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Baojiang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, China.|Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering Process and Technology for High-Efficiency Conversion, College of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Jinlong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University , Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Honggang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D018441:Biofilms; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012834:Silver; D002244:Carbon; D007501:Iron; D009584:Nitrogen; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: biofouling; microbial fuel cells; nitrogen doping; oxygen reduction reaction; stability