KMS Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, CAS
Improved oxygen reduction reaction activity of three-dimensional porous N-doped graphene from a soft-template synthesis strategy in microbial fuel cells | |
Liu, Yuan; Jin, Xiao-Jun; Tuo, Ai-Xue; Liu, Hong | |
2016 | |
摘要 | Electrocatalysts with high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity are still of great significance to improve the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). We report herein an approach to synthesize three-dimensional porous nitrogen-doped graphene (PNG) using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles as soft templates. Based on this strategy, one type of PNG series, denoted PNG-15, is obtained by optimizing the mass ratios of CTAB and GO. This material exhibits a well-developed porous structure with a high surface area of 615.2 m(2) g(-1). The results of XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and XPS analyses verify that the superior porous structure of PNG-15 is beneficial to the formation of active centers. Therefore, this material shows an ORR electron transfer number of 3.88 +/- 0.10 in a neutral medium and comparable activity to commercial Pt/C. Such comparable performance of PNG-15 is preserved as a cathode electrocatalyst in MFCs in terms of voltage output, coulombic efficiency, and power density output. Furthermore, the PNG-15 demonstrates superior long-time stability to Pt/C during over two-months of operation. The findings confirm that the new material can serve as a promising cathode electrocatalyst in MFCs. |
DOI | 10.1039/c6ra23971d |
发表期刊 | RSC ADVANCES |
ISSN | 2046-2069 |
卷号 | 6期号:107页码:105211-105221 |
通讯作者 | Liu, H (reprint author), Chinese Acad Sci, Chongqing Inst Green & Intelligent Technol, Chongqing 400714, Peoples R China. |
收录类别 | SCI |
WOS记录号 | WOS:000388116500035 |
语种 | 英语 |