Garino Nadia, Sacco Adriano, Castellino Micaela, Muñoz-Tabares José Alejandro, Chiodoni Angelica, Agostino Valeria, Margaria Valentina, Gerosa Matteo, Massaglia Giulia, Quaglio Marzia
Center for Space Human Robotics @Polito, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia , Corso Trento 21, 10129 Torino, Italy.
Applied Science and Technology Department, Politecnico di Torino , Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2016 Feb;8(7):4633-43. doi: 10.1021/acsami.5b11198. Epub 2016 Feb 10.
We report on an easy, fast, eco-friendly, and reliable method for the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide/SnO2 nanocomposite as cathode material for application in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The material was prepared starting from graphene oxide that has been reduced to graphene during the hydrothermal synthesis of the nanocomposite, carried out in a microwave system. Structural and morphological characterizations evidenced the formation of nanocomposite sheets, with SnO2 crystals of few nanometers integrated in the graphene matrix. Physico-chemical analysis revealed the formation of SnO2 nanoparticles, as well as the functionalization of the graphene by the presence of nitrogen atoms. Electrochemical characterizations put in evidence the ability of such composite to exploit a cocatalysis mechanism for the oxygen reduction reaction, provided by the presence of both SnO2 and nitrogen. In addition, the novel composite catalyst was successfully employed as cathode in seawater-based MFCs, giving electrical performances comparable to those of reference devices employing Pt as catalyst.
我们报道了一种简便、快速、环保且可靠的方法，用于合成还原氧化石墨烯/SnO₂纳米复合材料，作为应用于微生物燃料电池（MFCs）的阴极材料。该材料是从氧化石墨烯开始制备的，在微波系统中进行的纳米复合材料水热合成过程中，氧化石墨烯被还原为石墨烯。结构和形态表征证明形成了纳米复合片层，在石墨烯基质中整合了几纳米的SnO₂晶体。物理化学分析揭示了SnO₂纳米颗粒的形成以及氮原子的存在对石墨烯的功能化作用。电化学表征证明了这种复合材料能够利用由SnO₂和氮共同存在提供的氧还原反应的共催化机制。此外，这种新型复合催化剂成功地用作基于海水的MFCs的阴极，其电性能与使用Pt作为催化剂的参考装置相当。
