Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Simran Kaur Dhillon, Patit Paban Kundu
Summary: The performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can be enhanced by synthesizing a composite material of magnesium cobaltite embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon. The composite serves as an air cathode and demonstrates superior power output compared to traditional catalysts.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Bi-Lin Lai, Hai-Xia Liao, Shu-Qi Zhou, Hui-Xu Wei, Ai-Yi Li, Nan Li, Zhao-Qing Liu
Summary: This study successfully prepared a series of chalcogen-modified copper and nitrogen co-doped catalysts, which showed improved oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance through proper chalcogen doping while maintaining antibacterial properties. Among these catalysts, the optimized Cu2S@Cu-SNC-2 catalyst exhibited excellent durability and ORR activity, outperforming the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The MFC based on Cu2S@Cu-SNC-2 also achieved significantly higher power density and had fewer cathode biofilms.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Junfeng Chen, Kunqi Zhao, Yiqun Wu, Jinyu Liu, Renjun Wang, Yuewei Yang, Yanyan Liu
Summary: The property of cathode in microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a key factor limiting its output performance. MnO2 nanorods were prepared by hydrothermal method and used as cathode catalysts for MFCs. The unique crystal planes and abundant hydroxyl groups on the surface of MnO2 nanorods provided active adsorption sites, leading to a significantly higher power density and stability compared to other cathode materials.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Simran Kaur Dhillon, Patit Paban Kundu
Summary: Efficient and inexpensive electrocatalysts for microbial fuel cells were developed. PANI@Fe/NC showed superior performance with a higher power output compared to conventional catalysts. This novel cathode catalyst has potential for long-term fuel cell applications.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Amit Chaturvedi, Patit Paban Kundu
Summary: Microbial fuel cell technology utilizes organic substrates and oxygen to generate power, with the performance relying on the catalysts used for the oxygen reduction reaction. Various types of catalysts, including electrocatalysts, photo-electrocatalysts, and biocatalysts, have been evaluated for their electrochemical properties, catalytic effectiveness, stability, and power generation in MFCs.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Electrochemistry
Bi-Lin Lai, Zhi-Hui Xiao, Peng-Yang Jiang, Yong Xie, Nan Li, Zhao-Qing Liu
Summary: Ag-Fe-N/C catalysts with good electrocatalytic activity have been developed for microbial fuel cells (MFC). The catalyst not only improves the efficiency and stability of MFC, but also affects the microbial community structure on the cathode biofilm.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xinyi Li, Yangtian Huang, Yubiao Lu, Tianbo Jia, Jianxin Wang, Peng Li
Summary: Nitrogen-doped graphene oxide (N-doped GO) catalyst improves the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance of air-cathode microbial fuel cell (AMFC), enhancing the output voltage and power density. The NGO10 catalyst shows the highest output voltage (391.8 mV) and power density (1800 mWm-3) in AMFC, outperforming H-NGO and Pt/C electrodes. High-throughput sequencing reveals diverse bacterial communities in anode and cathode biofilms, with enriched denitrifying bacteria including Marinobacter, Methylophaga, and Arcobacter on NGO10 cathode. Real-time PCR confirms higher expression of denitrification-related genes in the NGO10 cathode biofilm.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Electrochemistry
Bolong Liang, Ming Su, Zhe Zhao, Hongbin He, Shumin Lin, Shu-xuan Liang
Summary: To investigate the effect of iron ligands on catalyst properties, catalysts with different structures using four kinds of ligands were prepared and compared for their oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and maximum power density in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The results showed that the Fe single atoms, metal-organic framework compound, Prussia blue crystal, and ethylenediamine coordination compound exhibited different maximum power densities and electrochemical performances. It was found that the structures and surface properties of the catalysts played a significant role in ORR activity, with the single-atom and ethylenediamine coordination structures showing promise for ORR in MFCs.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Guoyu Shi, Tetsuro Tano, Donald A. Tryk, Akihiro Iiyama, Makoto Uchida, Katsuyoshi Kakinuma
Summary: The study demonstrates that the activity of Pt/Nb-SnO2 catalyst increases with temperature and Pt loading, as the high Pt loading leads to the formation of a surface structure favorable for ORR. This enhancement is attributed to an increase in the pre-exponential factor of the Arrhenius equation, possibly linked to the increased exposure of (111)-like facets.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Simran Kaur Dhilllon, Patit Paban Kundu, Rahul Jain
Summary: This review summarizes the progress in carbon-based materials for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts and their utilization in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Incorporating transition metals and heteroatoms into carbon can enhance the ORR activity and power generation in MFCs. Nitrogen-doped carbons have abundant active sites and superior conductivity, stability, and catalytic activity. Carbon-based catalysts and biomass-derived carbons show potential to replace expensive Pt catalysts for ORR.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shengnan Li, Xuya Zhu, Hang Yu, Xizi Wang, Xiaqing Liu, Hui Yang, Fengxiang Li, Qixing Zhou
Summary: The study demonstrates that Ni-MOF-74 could serve as a two-electron transfer ORR catalyst with potential for degrading SMX, and provides a promising technique for preparing Ni-N-C for use as four-electron transfer ORR catalysts.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Xueli Zhang, Zhiyuan Lin, Bolong Liang, Ming Zhong, Mingtao Zhang, Kexun Li, Hao Wang, Cuicui Lv
Summary: A method of preparing porous iron-nitrogen-doped carbon nanospheres using an inexpensive zinc-iron Prussian blue analogue as the precursor was proposed in this study, which significantly improves the performance of activated carbon air-cathode microbial fuel cells.
JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES
(2021)
Article
Electrochemistry
Simran Kaur Dhillon, Patit Paban Kundu
Summary: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are promising carbon-free energy devices that can simultaneously harvest power and treat wastewater, which is crucial for meeting emerging energy challenges. In this study, a hybrid nanostructure of nickel-cobalt sulfide (NiCo2S4) nanosheets over NiCo2O4 nanoflowers on in-situ nitrogen and sulfur-doped carbon (NSC) was prepared via direct pyrolysis. The results showed that the M-N-S-based cathodes exhibited superior performance, indicating their potential in MFCs and similar energy devices.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zijie Lin, Junyi Liu, Shenzhou Li, Jiashun Liang, Xuan Liu, Linfeng Xie, Gang Lu, Jiantao Han, Yunhui Huang, Qing Li
Summary: A novel SnS2/SnO2 hetero-structured support is reported for Pt nanoparticles as the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst, with Pt NPs mainly deposited at the interfaces of SnS2 and SnO2 moieties. The Pt-support interactions, tuned by the concentration of the heterointerfaces, enhance electronic transfer and enrich electron density of Pt, resulting in improved ORR activity and stability. Density functional theory calculations reveal the higher binding energy and migration barrier of Pt on the SnS2/SnO2 heterojunction, accounting for the outstanding stability of the catalyst.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Yasser Bashir, Rishabh Raj, Sovik Das, M. M. Ghangrekar
Summary: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are important for bioelectricity production and wastewater treatment. However, the low power output of MFCs due to slow oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a major challenge. The application of bimetallic catalysts in MFCs has shown potential in improving power generation. This review evaluates different metal composites used in lab-scale and field-scale MFCs, focusing on power generation and ORR activity. It also discusses the synthesis, morphology, and electrochemical behavior of bimetallic catalysts.
WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION
(2023)
