Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Abstract
A novel platinum (Pt)-free cathodic materials binuclear-cobalt-phthalocyanine (Bi-CoPc) pyrolyzed at different temperatures (300–1000 °C) were examined as the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts, and compared with unpyrolyzed Bi-CoPc/C and Pt cathode in single chamber microbial fuel cells (SCMFCs). The results showed that the pyrolysis process increased the nitrogen abundance on Bi-CoPc and changed the nitrogen types. The Bi-CoPc pyrolyzed at 800 °C contained a significant amount of pyrrolic-N, and exhibited a high electrochemical catalytic activity. The power density and current density increased with temperature: Bi-CoPc/C-800 > Bi-CoPc/C-1000 > Bi-CoPc/C-600 > Bi-CoPc/C-300 > Bi-CoPc/C. The SCMFC with Bi-CoPc/C-800 cathode had a maximum power density of 604 mW m-2. The low cost Bi-CoPc compounds developed in this study showed a potential in air-breathing MFC systems, with the proper pyrolysis temperature being chosen.
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