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Improved bioelectrochemical performance of MnO2 nanorods modified cathode in microbial fuel cell

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Abstract

The property of cathode in the microbial fuel cell (MFC) was one of the key factors limiting its output performance. MnO2 nanorods were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method as cathode catalysts for MFCs. There were a number of typical characteristic crystal planes of MnO2 nanorods like (110), (310), (121), and (501). Additionally, there were great many hydroxyl groups on the surface of nanorod-like MnO2, which provided a rich set of active adsorption sites. The maximum power density (Pmax) of MnO2-MFC was 180 mW/m2, which was 1.51 times that of hydrothermally synthesized MnO2 (119.07 mW/m2), 4.28 times that of naturally synthesized MnO2 (42.05 mW/m2), and 5.61 times that of the bare cathode (32.11 mW/m2). The maximum voltage was 234 mV and the maximum stabilization time was 4 days. The characteristics of MnO2, including rod-like structure, high specific surface area, and high conductivity, were conducive to providing more active sites for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Therefore, the air cathode modified by MnO2 nanorods was a kind of fuel cell electrode with great application potential.

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We declare that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

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We declare that the materials supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31901188 and no. 31971503), Program for Scientific Research Innovation Team in Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province (2022KJ182), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M691850), and Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2020QC048 and ZR2019BB040).

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  1. Junfeng Chen and Kunqi Zhao contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, People’s Republic of China

    Junfeng Chen, Kunqi Zhao, Yiqun Wu, Jinyu Liu, Renjun Wang, Yuewei Yang & Yanyan Liu

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  1. Junfeng Chen
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  2. Kunqi Zhao
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  3. Yiqun Wu
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Contributions

J. C. conceived and designed the experiments. The experiments were performed by J. C., K. Z., Y. W., J. L., R. W., Y. Y., and Y. L. Data was analyzed by J. C., K. Z., Y. W., J. L., R. W., Y. Y., and Y. L. The paper was written by K. Z. and J. C.

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Correspondence to Junfeng Chen.

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Chen, J., Zhao, K., Wu, Y. et al. Improved bioelectrochemical performance of MnO2 nanorods modified cathode in microbial fuel cell. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 49052–49059 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25787-y

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