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Influence of platinum group metal-free catalyst synthesis on microbial fuel cell performance

Rojas-Carbonell, Santiago; Awais, Roxanne; Gokhale, Rohan; Kodali, Mounika; Serov, Alexey; Artyushkova, Kateryna; Atanassov, Plamen; Santoro, Carlo

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Authors

Santiago Rojas-Carbonell

Roxanne Awais

Rohan Gokhale

Mounika Kodali

Alexey Serov

Kateryna Artyushkova

Plamen Atanassov

Carlo Santoro Carlo.Santoro@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Bio-Energy



Abstract

© 2017 The Authors Platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) ORR catalysts from the Fe-N-C family were synthesized using sacrificial support method (SSM) technique. Six experimental steps were used during the synthesis: 1) mixing the precursor, the metal salt, and the silica template; 2) first pyrolysis in hydrogen rich atmosphere; 3) ball milling; 4) etching the silica template using harsh acids environment; 5) the second pyrolysis in ammonia rich atmosphere; 6) final ball milling. Three independent batches were fabricated following the same procedure. The effect of each synthetic parameters on the surface chemistry and the electrocatalytic performance in neutral media was studied. Rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) experiment showed an increase in half wave potential and limiting current after the pyrolysis steps. The additional improvement was observed after etching and performing the second pyrolysis. A similar trend was seen in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), in which the power output increased from 167 ± 2 μW cm−2 to 214 ± 5 μW cm−2. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was used to evaluate surface chemistry of catalysts obtained after each synthetic step. The changes in chemical composition were directly correlated with the improvements in performance. We report outstanding reproducibility in both composition and performance among the three different batches.

Citation

Atanassov, P., Artyushkova, K., Serov, A., Kodali, M., Gokhale, R., Awais, R., …Santoro, C. (2018). Influence of platinum group metal-free catalyst synthesis on microbial fuel cell performance. Journal of Power Sources, 375, 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.11.039

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 10, 2017
Online Publication Date Nov 21, 2017
Publication Date Jan 31, 2018
Deposit Date Apr 19, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Journal of Power Sources
Print ISSN 0378-7753
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 375
Pages 11-20
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.11.039
Keywords pyrolysis, oxygen reduction reaction, rotating ring disk,
microbial fuel cell, reproducibility
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/871958
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.11.039

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