화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Power Sources, Vol.414, 103-114, 2019
Evaluation of the novel Pd-CeO2-NR electrocatalyst supported on N-doped graphene for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction and its use in a Microbial Fuel Cell
Novel cathode electrocatalysts based on Pd and cerium oxide nanorods (CeO2-NR), supported on home-obtained graphene (G) and N-doped graphene (G(D1), G(D2)), were synthesized. The electrocatalysts were identified as Pd-CeO2-NR/G, Pd-CeO2-NR/G(D1) and Pd-CeO2-NR/G(D2). In half cell measurements in 0.5 mol L-1 KOH, these electrocatalysts showed higher mass and specific activity for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) than Vulcan-supported Pd/C and comparable to Pd-CeO2-NR/C. Tests in a dual-chamber Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) were performed using pharmaceutical residual water (PRW) as anode substrate, while KOH (pH = 9.6) was the electrolyte in the cathode compartment. The bioanode was formed by commercial Pt/C electrocatalyst and Bacillus subtilis as the microorganism grown as a biofilm. Meanwhile, the gas diffusion electrode (GDE) cathode contained the above-mentioned Pd-based electrocatalysts. The MFC equipped with the Pd-CeO2-NR/G(D1) electrocatalyst as cathode delivered an Open Circuit Voltage of 0.308 V and a maximum power density of 12.47 mW m(-2). This performance was higher than those of the MFC with Pd/C (0.21 V and 4.50 mW m(-2)) and commercial Pt/C (0.21 V and 5.43 mW m(-2)) cathodes. Thus, Pd-CeO2-NR/G(D1) is a promising cathode for MFCs. Moreover, B. subtilis demonstrated to be an active microorganism to generate electrical energy from PRW.