Iron - Based Electrocatalysts Supported on Nanostructured Carbon to Enhance Oxygen Reduction in Microbial Fuel Cells

摘要

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bioelectrochemical systems ideally suited to address two sustainability problems at once: energy generation and wastewater treatment. However, one of the major barriers to the widespread diffusion of this technology is the high cost of materials, in particular platinum used at cathode side. To overcome this drawback, we developed catalysts based on iron phthalocyanine (FePc) supported on nanostructured carbon materials with physical and morphological differences, such as carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and carbon xerogels (CXGs). The obtained materials were characterized in terms of elemental compostion, morphological and textural features, and electrochemical properties demonstrating a textural-dependent electrocatalityical activity. This was reflected in the performance of the catalysts once assembled in a single-chamber MFC. In fact, FePc supported on CNFs (Fe-CNF) allowed for a 86% power density (PD) increased compared to Fe-CXG (PD=270 mWm~(-2), not far from results obtained with reference Pt).