Preparation of microvillus-like nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes as the cathode of a microbial fuel cell

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an emerging technology to harvest electricity from waste, but generally suffers from low power density at the present stage. Especially, the poor cathode performance usually presents a limiting factor. In this work, we prepare a novel cathode material for an MFC by growing vertically-aligned nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) on carbon cloth (CC) using a chemical vapor deposition method, and evaluate its performance in MFC tests. The results show that the MFC with the N-CNT–CC as its cathode exhibits an output power density of 542 mW m−3, greater than that of the MFC with the Pt/C-coated CC cathode. The electrochemical experimental results show higher catalytic activity for oxygen reduction and a smaller resistance of the N-CNT–CC electrode, compared to those of the Pt/C-CC, which are responsible for its better MFC performance. The N-CNT–CC material prepared in this work may offer an appealing metal-free and low-cost alternative to Pt/C for MFC cathode applications.

[1]  Vijayender Bhalla,et al.  Enhancing electrochemical detection on graphene oxide-CNT nanostructured electrodes using magneto-nanobioprobes , 2012, Scientific Reports.

[2]  B. Li,et al.  Novelly developed three-dimensional carbon scaffold anodes from polyacrylonitrile for microbial fuel cells , 2015 .

[3]  L. Dai,et al.  Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Arrays Co-doped with Phosphorus and Nitrogen as Efficient Metal-Free Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction. , 2012, The journal of physical chemistry letters.

[4]  Guowang Diao,et al.  In situ synthesis of silver nanostructures on magnetic Fe3O4@C core–shell nanocomposites and their application in catalytic reduction reactions , 2013 .

[5]  Wei Chen,et al.  Fe, Co, N-functionalized carbon nanotubes in situ grown on 3D porous N-doped carbon foams as a noble metal-free catalyst for oxygen reduction , 2015 .

[6]  L. Dai,et al.  Vertically aligned BCN nanotubes as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction: a synergetic effect by co-doping with boron and nitrogen. , 2011, Angewandte Chemie.

[7]  Yihe Zhang,et al.  A simple and green pathway toward nitrogen and sulfur dual doped hierarchically porous carbons from ionic liquids for oxygen reduction , 2014 .

[8]  Byungwoo Kim,et al.  Supergrowth of Aligned Carbon Nanotubes Directly on Carbon Papers and Their Properties as Supercapacitors , 2010 .

[9]  Shaoming Huang,et al.  Recent progress in doped carbon nanomaterials as effective cathode catalysts for fuel cell oxygen reduction reaction , 2013 .

[10]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[11]  Andrew G. Glen,et al.  APPL , 2001 .

[12]  E. G. Rakov.  Materials made of carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotube forest , 2013 .

[13]  J. Alam,et al.  Carbon nanotube as an alternative cathode support and catalyst for microbial fuel cells , 2013 .

[14]  Xin Wang,et al.  One-Step Synthesis of Graphene−Cobalt Hydroxide Nanocomposites and Their Electrochemical Properties , 2010 .

[15]  P. Gai,et al.  Polyaniline networks grown on graphene nanoribbons-coated carbon paper with a synergistic effect for high-performance microbial fuel cells , 2013 .

[16]  X. Bo,et al.  Simultaneous formation of nitrogen and sulfur-doped carbon nanotubes-mesoporous carbon and its electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction , 2014 .

[17]  K. Takahata,et al.  Batch-mode micropatterning of carbon nanotube forests using UV-LIGA assisted micro-electro-discharge machining , 2014 .

[18]  Bruce E Logan,et al.  Cathode performance as a factor in electricity generation in microbial fuel cells. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[19]  Byung Hong Kim,et al.  Challenges in microbial fuel cell development and operation , 2007, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[20]  P. Shen,et al.  Synthesis of the nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (NCNT) bouquets and their electrochemical properties , 2013 .

[21]  Yan-Rong He,et al.  Enhanced electricity production from microbial fuel cells with plasma-modified carbon paper anode. , 2012, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[22]  Lijun Wang,et al.  Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes as efficient and durable metal-free cathodic catalysts for oxygen reduction in microbial fuel cells , 2011 .

[23]  Xiaoping Zhou,et al.  Improved power output by incorporating polyvinyl alcohol into the anode of a microbial fuel cell , 2015 .

[24]  Deyu Li,et al.  Well-dispersed high-loading pt nanoparticles supported by shell-core nanostructured carbon for methanol electrooxidation. , 2008, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[25]  S. Jiang,et al.  One-pot synthesis of a nitrogen and phosphorus-dual-doped carbon nanotube array as a highly effective electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction , 2014 .

[26]  Jonathan Rossiter,et al.  Urine-activated origami microbial fuel cells to signal proof of life , 2015 .

[27]  F. Du,et al.  Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube Arrays with High Electrocatalytic Activity for Oxygen Reduction , 2009, Science.

[28]  J. Ahmed,et al.  Nitrogen- and boron-co-doped core–shell carbon nanoparticles as efficient metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions in microbial fuel cells , 2014 .

[29]  K. Kontturi,et al.  Electrochemical reduction of oxygen on double-walled carbon nanotube modified glassy carbon electrodes in acid and alkaline solutions , 2010 .

[30]  Han-Qing Yu,et al.  Nano-structured manganese oxide as a cathodic catalyst for enhanced oxygen reduction in a microbial fuel cell fed with a synthetic wastewater. , 2010, Water research.

[31]  V. A. Ushakov,et al.  Synthesis of nitrogen-containing carbon nanofibers by catalytic decomposition of ethylene/ammonia mixture , 2007 .

[32]  M. Li,et al.  Novel silicon-doped, silicon and nitrogen-codoped carbon nanomaterials with high activity for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline medium , 2015 .

[33]  Wei Zhao,et al.  Sustainable seaweed-based one-dimensional (1D) nanofibers as high-performance electrocatalysts for fuel cells , 2015 .

[34]  Xin Wang,et al.  Recent Development of Molybdenum Sulfides as Advanced Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction , 2014 .

[35]  Jingying Shi,et al.  Preparation of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes with different morphologies from melamine-formaldehyde resin. , 2015, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[36]  Astrid Hilding-Ohlsson,et al.  Analytical applications of microbial fuel cells. Part I: Biochemical oxygen demand. , 2015, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[37]  Yujie Feng,et al.  Using ammonium bicarbonate as pore former in activated carbon catalyst layer to enhance performance of air cathode microbial fuel cell , 2014 .

[38]  R. Stephenson.  A and V , 1962, The British journal of ophthalmology.

[39]  Chaiwat Engtrakul,et al.  Carbon nanotube modified air-cathodes for electricity production in microbial fuel cells , 2011 .

[40]  Stephen A. Morin,et al.  Structure, composition, and chemical reactivity of carbon nanotubes by selective nitrogen doping , 2006 .