High-efficiency power amplification of microbial fuel cell by modifying cathode with iron-incorporated thermalized covalent organic framework

The low power output of microbial fuel cell (MFC) requires high-performance catalysts to facilitate cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this work, a series of electrocatalysts (Fe/TTF) are synthesized by thermalizing N-rich covalent triazine framework (CTF) with various amount of FeCl3 center dot 6H(2)O at different calcination temperatures for ORR catalysis in MFC. Electrochemical measurements reveal that Fe/TTF-0.5-900 synthesized with a mass ratio of 1:2 (FeCl3 center dot 6H(2)O: CTF) at 900 degrees C exhibits the minimum charge transfer resistance and optimal catalytic behavior in ORR process. The MFC with Fe/TTF-0.5-900 cathode displays a high maximum power density of 2617 mW.m(-2), which surpasses those of other Fe/TTF electrocatalysts, thermalized covalent triazine framework (TTF) and the benchmark activated carbon (AC). The results indicate that TTF as a porous carbon matrix with favorable nitrogen doping promotes charge and mass transfer greatly, and the combination of iron carbide substantially benefits the improvement of MFC performance. Moreover, according to density functional theory (DFT) calculation, iron carbide is significantly preferable for ORR catalysis by accelerating the break of O-O bond in *OOH, which further reveals that the ORR on iron carbide follows four-electron pathway. Therefore, Fe/TTF-0.5-900 can be applied as an economical and highly active electrocatalyst in MFC to achieve high-efficiency energy conversion.

Automated summary

A series of electrocatalysts (Fe/TTF) were synthesized and tested in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), and Fe/TTF-0.5-900 showed the best catalytic performance, resulting in an increased maximum power density of the MFCs. The study also revealed the roles of TTF and iron carbide in promoting charge and mass transfer, as well as the effectiveness of iron carbide in ORR catalysis.