Design of Iron(II) Phthalocyanine-Derived Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts for High-Power-Density Microbial Fuel Cells

Carlo Santoro, Rohan Gokhale, Barbara Mecheri, Alessandra D'Epifanio, Silvia Licoccia, Alexey Serov, Kateryna Artyushkova, Plamen Atanassov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

67 Scopus citations

Abstract

Iron(II) phthalocyanine (FePc) deposited onto two different carbonaceous supports was synthesized through an unconventional pyrolysis-free method. The obtained materials were studied in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in neutral media through incorporation in an air-breathing cathode structure and tested in an operating microbial fuel cell (MFC) configuration. Rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) analysis revealed high performances of the Fe-based catalysts compared with that of activated carbon (AC). The FePc supported on Black-Pearl carbon black [Fe-BP(N)] exhibits the highest performance in terms of its more positive onset potential, positive shift of the half-wave potential, and higher limiting current as well as the highest power density in the operating MFC of (243±7) μW cm−2, which was 33 % higher than that of FePc supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (Fe-CNT(N); 182±5 μW cm−2). The power density generated by Fe-BP(N) was 92 % higher than that of the MFC utilizing AC; therefore, the utilization of platinum group metal-free catalysts can boost the performances of MFCs significantly.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3243-3251
Number of pages9
JournalChemSusChem
Volume10
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 24 2017
Externally publishedYes

Funding

C.S., R.G., A.S., K.A., and P.A. would like to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the grant: “Efficient Microbial Bio- electrochemical Systems” (OPP1139954).

Keywords

  • carbon
  • energy storage
  • iron
  • microbial fuel cells
  • oxygen reduction reaction

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