School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
Bioresour Technol. 2010 Jul;101(14):5250-5. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.01.120. Epub 2010 Feb 18.
The catalytic activity of modified carbon powder (Vulcan XC-72R) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in an air-breathing cathode of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been investigated. Chemical modification was carried out by using various chemicals, namely 5% nitric acid, 0.2N phosphoric acid, 0.2N potassium hydroxide and 10% hydrogen peroxide. Electrochemical study was performed for ORR of these modified carbon materials in the buffer solution pH range of 6-7.5 in the anodic compartment. Although, these treatments influenced the surface properties of the carbon material, as evident from the SEM-EDX analysis, treatment with H(2)PO(4), KOH, and H(2)O(2) did not show significant activity during the electrochemical test. The HNO(3) treated Vulcan demonstrated significant ORR activity and when used in the single-chamber MFC cathode, current densities (1115mA/m(2), at 5.6mV) greater than those for a Pt-supported un-treated carbon cathode were achieved. However, the power density for the latter was higher. Such chemically modified carbon material can be a cheaper alternative for expensive platinum catalyst used in MFC cathode construction.
研究了改性碳粉（Vulcan XC-72R）在微生物燃料电池（MFC）空气阴极中对氧还原反应（ORR）的催化活性。通过使用各种化学物质，即 5%硝酸、0.2N 磷酸、0.2N 氢氧化钾和 10%过氧化氢，对碳材料进行了化学改性。在阳极室的缓冲溶液 pH 值为 6-7.5 的范围内，对这些改性碳材料的 ORR 进行了电化学研究。尽管这些处理会影响碳材料的表面特性，从 SEM-EDX 分析中可以明显看出，但在电化学测试中，H(2)PO(4)、KOH 和 H(2)O(2)的处理并没有表现出显著的活性。经 HNO(3)处理的 Vulcan 表现出显著的 ORR 活性，当用于单室 MFC 阴极时，电流密度（在 5.6mV 时为 1115mA/m(2)）大于未经处理的 Pt 负载碳阴极的电流密度。然而，后者的功率密度更高。这种化学改性的碳材料可以替代 MFC 阴极结构中昂贵的铂催化剂，成为更经济的选择。
