Nitrogen-doped biochar derived from watermelon rind as oxygen reduction catalyst in air cathode microbial fuel cells

Zhong, Kengqiang; Li, Meng; Yang, Yue; Zhang, Hongguo; Zhang, Bopeng; Tang, Jinfeng; Yan, Jia; Su, Minhua; Yang, Zhiquan

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.03.050

Cited by 159 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Surprisingly, it was observed that the N content plummeted down to 0% after pyrolysis. This is in stark contrast to the work of Zhong and colleagues, where they noted significant N-doping from similar EDX analysis of the pyrolyzed watermelon rind [16]. It can be inferred that the higher pyrolysis temperature used in the current study resulted to the total elimination of N, converting the element into various volatile gaseous compounds [17].…”

Section: Energy Dispersive X-ray (Edx) Analysiscontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the characteristic honeycomb-like structures were shown to be greatly enhanced as the pyrolysis temperature was increased. The presence of various macroporous, mesoporous, and microporous structures in carbon-based electrocatalysts are recognized as important characteristics that greatly enhance electrocatalytic activity [16]. The surface features seen in this study are similar to those observed by Zhong and colleagues [16] at lower pyrolysis temperatures, which suggests how WP retains its structural framework even at high temperature treatments.…”

Section: Morphological and Surface Characterizations 321 Scanning Esupporting

confidence: 78%

“…The presence of various macroporous, mesoporous, and microporous structures in carbon-based electrocatalysts are recognized as important characteristics that greatly enhance electrocatalytic activity [16]. The surface features seen in this study are similar to those observed by Zhong and colleagues [16] at lower pyrolysis temperatures, which suggests how WP retains its structural framework even at high temperature treatments. WP pyrolyzed at 1000 °C appeared to have more of these pore structures (Figure 3-D and 4-D), which could explain its better ORR activity when compared with WP pyrolyzed at 800 °C and 900 °C.…”

Section: Morphological and Surface Characterizations 321 Scanning Esupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Zhong and colleagues also achieved the highest n value for their catalyst pyrolyzed at the high end of their experimental temperature range (i.e. 700 °C), implying the importance of pyrolysis temperature in controlling the morphology, porosity, and elemental composition of the pyrolyzed product which greatly contributes to the overall electrocatalytic activity of the material towards ORR [16]. Figure 2 shows the overlay of sample ORR polarization curves for the different electrocatalysts taken at 1500 rpm.…”

Section: Rotating Disk Electrode-linear Sweep Voltammetry (Rde-lsv)mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Various waste biomass has been converted via pyrolysis into ORR electrocatalysts, such as rice straws [13], corn husks and cobs [14], tangerine peels [15], and pomelo peels [7]. Recently, Zhong and colleagues pyrolyzed watermelon rinds at the biochar temperature range (< 800 °C) to produce highly-active ORR electrocatalysts in alkaline media [16]. In this study, waste watermelon rinds (also called peels) were pyrolyzed at a higher temperature range (800 °C -1000 °C) to produce active ORR electrocatalysts in acidic media for possible application as cathode material for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Platinum-Free Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Derived from the Direct Pyrolysis of Watermelon Peels

Matibag

Geronimo

Garcia

et al. 2019

IJIE

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Carbon-based nanomaterials derived from the pyrolysis of heteroatom-containing carbonaceous precursor was shown to exhibit significant electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Biomass from agricultural waste could be seen as possible low-cost precursor for the preparation of carbon-based ORR electrocatalysts. In this study, watermelon peels (WP) were directly pyrolyzed under N2 atmosphere to produce novel carbon-based ORR electrocatalysts. WP were oven-dried and pulverized using a mechanical grinder to produce WP powder. A weighed amount of the resulting powder was then transferred into a ceramic boat and inside a quartz tube furnace. The WP powder was pyrolyzed from room temperature to pyrolysis temperature T at a rate of 5 °C/min under N2 atmosphere. The temperature was held at T for an hour, followed by natural cooling back to room temperature. The pyrolysis temperature was optimized, with T = 800 °C, 900 °C, and 1000 °C. The resulting pyrolysis products were characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV), rotating disc electrode voltammetry (RDE), and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). CV revealed that WP pyrolyzed at 1000 °C gave the most positive onset potential (Eonset = 0.40 V) and highest current density (j = 10.79 mA/cm 2), compared to those pyrolyzed at 800 °C (Eonset = 0.30 V; j = 2.047 mA/cm 2) and 900 °C (Eonset = 0.30 V; j = 3.494 mA/cm 2). Levich analysis from RDE data showed that the electrocatalysts prepared at 1000 °C proceeded closest to the ideal four-electron route, compared to those prepared at 800 °C and 900 °C. SEM-EDX analysis showed the changes WP underwent in terms of surface morphology and elemental composition, which are then correlated with the apparent electrocatalytic activities of pyrolyzed WP. These findings present the feasibility of using WP as low-cost precursor for ORR electrocatalysts, which could be utilized in fuel cells.

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Section: Energy Dispersive X-ray (Edx) Analysiscontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Morphological and Surface Characterizations 321 Scanning Esupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Morphological and Surface Characterizations 321 Scanning Esupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Rotating Disk Electrode-linear Sweep Voltammetry (Rde-lsv)mentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Platinum-Free Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Derived from the Direct Pyrolysis of Watermelon Peels

Matibag

Geronimo

Garcia

et al. 2019

IJIE

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Waste‐to‐Energy: Microbial Fuel Cells as an Innovation Platform for Sustainable Development

Mecheri

2021

Encyclopedia of Electrochemistry

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Promoting the transition toward a circular economy and sustainable development through scientific and technological innovation is the only viable strategy for leading to energy‐saving solutions, waste valorization, and efficient integration of renewable resources. Thanks to its dual function of harvesting energy from waste and cleaning up waste from organic pollutants, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can be considered as a revolutionary tool for addressing the global environmental challenges. Here, several aspects of MFC technology are considered: basic principles and operational conditions, the role of materials efficiency for enhancing MFC performance, bacterial extracellular electron transfer mechanisms, the effect of different substrates used, and perspectives for technology scaling up. Special emphasis will be given to the development of low‐cost and effective catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode side, as a key aspect for reducing the high cost of current electrode materials which limits the implementation of larger‐scale MFC systems. The application of MFCs in environmental monitoring and bioremediation is also reviewed, highlighting still existing limitations and potential future research for promoting the combination of MFCs with well‐established technologies.

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Role of Catalysts in Bioelectrochemical Systems

Priyadarshini,

Senthil Kumar,

Ghangrekar

2023

Microbial Electrochemical Technologies

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Nitrogen-doped biochar derived from watermelon rind as oxygen reduction catalyst in air cathode microbial fuel cells

Cited by 159 publications

References 62 publications

Platinum-Free Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Derived from the Direct Pyrolysis of Watermelon Peels

Platinum-Free Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Derived from the Direct Pyrolysis of Watermelon Peels

Waste‐to‐Energy: Microbial Fuel Cells as an Innovation Platform for Sustainable Development

Role of Catalysts in Bioelectrochemical Systems

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