Nitrogen and Sulfur Co-doped Porous Carbon Derived from ZIF-8 as Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalyst for Microbial Fuel Cells

Abstract

Nitrogen and sulfur co-doped porous nanocarbon (ZIF-C-N-S) catalyst was successfully synthesized derived from ZIF-8 and thiourea precursors. The electrochemical measurements indicate that the as-obtained ZIF-C-N-S catalyst exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline electrolyte and superior durability-longer than commercial Pt/C catalyst. The enhancment of electrocatalytic activity mainly be come from the open pore structure, large specific surface area as well as the synergistic effect resulted from the co-doping of N and S atoms. In addition, the ZIF-C-N-S catalyst is also used as the air cathode catalyst in the microbial fuel cell (MFC) device. The maximum power density and stable output voltage of ZIF-C-N-S based MFC are 1315 mW/m² and 0.48 V, respectively, which is better than that of Pt/C based MFC.

Keywords

electrocatalyst / oxygen reduction reaction / microbial fuel cells / nitrogen and sulfur co-doped

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