Facile Synthesis of MoS₂@CNT as an Effective Catalyst for Hydrogen Production in Microbial Electrolysis Cells

Abstract

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) can produce hydrogen gas from organic compounds in an energy‐efficient way by taking advantage of the potential generated by microorganisms. However, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in MECs is slow and thus requires catalysts. A challenge for MEC development therefore lies in the development of cost‐effective HER catalysts. In this study, a nanocomposite with molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) coated on highly conductive carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was synthesized as an alternative HER catalyst, and examined in an MEC for hydrogen production. Linear sweep voltammogram experiments demonstrated enhanced HER activity with increasing CNT content. The results suggest that conductivity may be the main limiting factor for overall HER catalysis by MoS2. MEC tests showed that MoS2/CNT‐90 achieved hydrogen production that was comparable to the Pt‐based catalyst. The low cost of the MoS2 composites will make it competitive as an effective HER catalyst for future MEC applications.

Nanoparticulate Ni(OH)2Films Synthesized from Macrocyclic Nickel(II) Cyclam for Hydrogen Production in Microbial Electrolysis Cells

“…9 The liquid volume of the anodic chamber and the cathodic chamber was 130 and 140 mL, respectively. The anode electrode was a carbon brush (Gordon Brush Mfg.…”

“…Platinum is a highly efficient catalyst for HER, but its high cost obstructs its application in MECs, especially for large scale systems that are designed for wastewater treatment. 4,6 Thus, alternative catalysts have been explored such as Pd-, 7 Fe-, 8 Mo-, 9 and Ni-based materials. 10 Among them, Ni-containing nanoparticles are of special interest because of nickel's low cost, abundance, low overpotentials toward proton reduction, and high stability in solutions, which are usually alkaline in the MEC cathode.…”

Resource recovery by osmotic bioelectrochemical systems towards sustainable wastewater treatment

“…International, Inc., GlenRock, NJ, USA), according to a previous study (Yuan et al 2014). The liquid volume of the anodic chamber and the cathodic chamber was 130 and 140 mL, respectively.…”

“…Thus, alternative catalysts have been explored such as Pd- (Huang et al 2011), Fe-(Xiao et al 2012), Mo- (Yuan et al 2014), and Ni-based materials . Among them, Nicontaining nanoparticles are of special interest because of nickel's low cost, abundance, low overpotentials toward proton reduction, and high stability in solutions, which are usually alkaline in the MEC cathode (Kundu et al 2013, Selembo et al 2009 (Hu et al 2009).…”

Effects of electron acceptors on removal of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli, resistance genes and class 1 integrons under anaerobic conditions

“…This MEC was built by sandwiching a cation exchange membrane between two glass bottles (Yuan et al, 2014). The anode electrode was a carbon brush and the cathode electrode was two pieces of 20-cm 2 carbon cloth coated with 0.5 mg cm −2 Pt/C.…”