Copper nanoparticles embedded in polyaniline derived nitrogen-doped carbon as electrocatalyst for bio-energy generation in microbial fuel cells

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (SC-MFCs) have emerged as green energy devices to resolve the growing energy and environmental crisis. However, the technology’s application depends on the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics. Among the electrocatalysts explored, transition metal-nitrogen-carbon composites exhibit satisfactory ORR activity. Herein, we investigate the performance of copper-nitrogen-carbon (Cu/NC) electrocatalysts for ORR, highlighting the effect of temperature, role of nitrogen functionalities, and Cu–Nx sites in catalyst performance. Cu/NC-700 demonstrated satisfactory ORR activity with an onset potential of 0.7 V (vs. RHE) and a limiting current density of 3.4 mA cm−2. Cu/NC-700 modified MFC exhibited a maximum power density of 489.2 mW m−2, higher than NC-700 (107.3 mW m−2). These observations could result from synergistic interaction between copper and nitrogen atoms, high density of Cu–Nx sites, and high pyridinic-N content. Moreover, the catalyst exhibited superior stability, implying its use in long-term operations. The electrocatalytic performance of the catalyst suggests that copper-doped carbon catalysts could be potential metal-nitrogen-carbon material for scaled-up MFC applications.