Synthesizing Nitrogen-Doped Activated Carbon and Probing its Active Sites for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Microbial Fuel Cells
By Zhang, Bo; Wen, Zhenhai; Ci, Suqin; Mao, Shun; Chen, Junhong & He, Zhen
Published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
NULL
2014
Abstract
Cost-effective cathode catalysts are critical to the development of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology. Herein, a synthesis route is presented to improve the nitrogen content and nitrogen functionality in the nitrogen-doped activated carbon (AC) as a low cost and efficient catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). It was demonstrated that key factors for successful nitrogen doping were the proper pretreatment with acidic and alkaline solutions consecutively and the use of a solid-state nitrogen precursor. The AC pretreated with both acidic and alkaline solutions resulted in a nitrogen content of 8.65% (atom %) (in which 5.56% is pyridinic-N) on its surface, and exhibited an outstanding electrocatalytic activity for ORR in both electrochemical and MFC tests. A good agreement between pyridinic-N content and ORR activity was observed, indicating that pyridinic-N is the most active site for ORR in the nitrogen-doped AC. The pretreated nitrogen-doped AC catalysts resulted in a higher maximum power density than the untreated AC and the commercial Pt/C (10% Pt) catalysts. The exceptional performance associated with the advantages, such as simple and convenient preparation procedure, easily obtained raw materials, and low cost, makes the pretreated nitrogen-doped AC promising for the ongoing effort to scale up MFCs.
Microsoft is Ending Support for Windows 7
Microsoft will discontinue support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020 which means Gamry will also be discontinuing support for Windows 7. If you are upgrading to Windows 10, like many companies and institutions, you need to be running Version 7 of our s oftware . Please note that only USB and Ethernet-based instruments can run in Version 7. Eligible users can download the latest version of our software through our online Client Portal .
If you haven't already registered your instrument, you can do so through the Client Portal .
Please email Technical Support if you have any questions regarding this transition. Please be sure to include your instrument model and serial number when contacting us.