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The paper reports the fabrication and application of a carbon nanotube/platinum nanocomposite as a novel cathode catalyst in microbial fuel cells for wastewater treatment and bioenergy production.

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What they did

System
MFC

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Abstract

In this paper, we reported the fabrication, characterization, and application of carbon nanotube (CNT)-platinum nanocomposite as a novel generation of cathode catalyst in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for sustainable energy production and wastewater treatment. The efficiency of the carbon nanocomposites was compared by platinum (Pt), which is the most effective and common cathode catalyst. This nanocomposite is utilized to benefit from the catalytic properties of CNTs and reduce the amount of required Pt, as it is an expensive catalyst. The CNT/Pt nanocomposites were synthesized via a chemical reduction technique and the electrodes were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, electronic dispersive X-Ray analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The nanocomposites were applied as cathode catalysts in the MFC to obtain polarization curve and coulombic efficiency (CE) results. The catalytic properties of electrodes were tested by linear sweep voltammetry. The CNT/Pt at the concentration of 0.3 mg/cm² had the highest performance in terms of CE (47.16%), internal resistance (551 Ω), COD removal (88.9%), and power generation (143 mW/m²). In contrast, for the electrode with 0.5 mg/L of Pt catalyst, CE, internal resistance, COD removal, and power generation were 19%, 810 Ω, 96%, and 84.1 mW/m², respectively. So, it has been found that carbon nanocomposite cathode electrodes had better performance for sustainable clean energy production and COD removal by MFC.

Key findings

  • CNT/Pt nanocomposites showed higher performance in terms of CE (47.16%), internal resistance (551 Ω), COD removal (88.9%), and power generation (143 mW/m²) compared to Pt alone.
  • The CNT/Pt nanocomposite at 0.3 mg/cm² concentration had the highest performance among the tested concentrations.
  • The nanocomposite was synthesized via chemical reduction technique and characterized using FESEM, EDX, and TEM.

Keywords

Microbial fuel cellNanocompositeCathodeCarbon nanotubeFaraday efficiencyCatalysis

Identifiers

DOI
10.3390/su13148057
Journal
Sustainability
Year
2021