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Updated: Jan 26, 2026
Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
Mo2C-induced hydrogen production enhances microbial electrosynthesis of acetate from CO2 reduction
Shihao Tian1,2, Haoqi Wang1,2, Zhiwei Dong1,2
11State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816 People's Republic of China.
Background:
Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is a biocathode-driven process, in which electroautotrophic microorganisms can directly uptake electrons or indirectly via H2 from the cathode as energy sources and CO2 as only carbon source to produce chemicals.
Results:
This study demonstrates that a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst can enhance MES performance. An active HER electrocatalyst molybdenum carbide (Mo2C)-modified electrode was constructed for MES. The volumetric acetate production rate of MES with 12 mg cm-2 Mo2C was 0.19 ± 0.02 g L-1 day-1, which was 2.1 times higher than that of the control. The final acetate concentration reached 5.72 ± 0.6 g L-1 within 30 days, and coulombic efficiencies of 64 ± 0.7% were yielded. Furthermore, electrochemical study, scanning electron microscopy, and microbial community analyses suggested that Mo2C can accelerate the release of hydrogen, promote the formation of biofilms and regulate the mixed microbial flora.
Conclusion:
Coupling a HER catalyst to a cathode of MES system is a promising strategy for improving MES efficiency.
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