Molybdenum carbide as anodic catalyst for microbial fuel cell based on Klebsiella pneumoniae

A pure beta-molybdenum carbide (M(O2)C) with a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) special surface area of 77.5 m2/g, prepared by solution derived precursor, was used as anodic catalyst of microbial fuel cell (MFC) based on Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae). The electrochemical activity of the prepared M(O2)C and the performance of the MFC were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization curve measurement. The results show that the prepared M(O2)C has high electrocatalytic activity and is a potential alternative to platinum as the anodic catalyst of MFCs. The maximum power density of single-cube MFC with 6.0 mg/cm2 M(O2)C as anodic catalyst is 2.39 W/m3. This power density is far higher than that of the MFC with carbon felt as anode without any catalyst (0.61 W/m3), and comparable to that of the MFC using 0.5 mg/cm2 Pt as anodic catalyst (3.64 W/m3).