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Design of Iron(II) Phthalocyanine-Derived Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts for High-Power-Density Microbial Fuel
Carlo Santoro1, Rohan Gokhale1, Barbara Mecheri2
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Micro-Engineered Materials, CMEM, University of New Mexico, Advanced Materials Lab, 1001 University Blvd. SE Suite 103, MSC 04 2790, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA.
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.
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