Issue 24, 2019

Nitrogen and sulfur dual-doped graphene as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cells

Abstract

Developing highly efficient non-precious metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of great importance to obtain high-performance microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In the present work, nitrogen and sulfur dual-doped graphene (N/S-G) was prepared and used as a cathode catalyst for MFCs. The electrocatalytic activity of as-prepared catalysts towards the ORR was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The ORR activity of N/S-G was compared to that of commercial Pt/C in a neutral medium, and this material showed an electron transfer number of 3.75 ± 0.15, suggesting that ORR catalysis proceeded through a favorable four-electron pathway. More importantly, the MFC with N/S-G as a cathode catalyst exhibited a maximum power density of 1368 mW m−2, relatively higher than that obtained with Pt/C (1011 mW m−2). These results demonstrated that N/S-G could be a good candidate as an electrocatalyst for MFCs.

Graphical abstract: Nitrogen and sulfur dual-doped graphene as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cells

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Mar 2019
Accepted
11 May 2019
First published
13 May 2019

New J. Chem., 2019,43, 9389-9395

Nitrogen and sulfur dual-doped graphene as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cells

C. Zhao, J. Li, Y. Chen and J. Chen, New J. Chem., 2019, 43, 9389 DOI: 10.1039/C9NJ01480B

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