Investigating the effects of in-situ fabrication of a binder-free Co3O4-polyaniline cathode towards enhanced oxygen reduction reaction and power generation of microbial fuel cells

Exploring a low-cost and highly effective technique in the construction of electrodes for the enhanced oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cells plays a crucial role in the power generation output of a microbial fuel cell system. In this manuscript, an in-situ technique for the synthesis of Co3O4-polyaniline on the surface of carbon cloth is utilized and the binder-free electrode performance for the oxygen reduction reaction in a microbial fuel cell is compared with the electrode prepared by the coating technique. The lack of a costly binder like polytetrafluoroethylene in the in-situ electrode structure is the advantage of this construction technique and leads to low internal resistance and consequently, facilitated electron/charge transfer process. In various electrochemical analyses and examinations, the acquired binder-free Co3O4-polyaniline electrode demonstrates an outstanding oxygen reduction reaction activity. The as-prepared electrodes are also employed as a cathode in a dual-chamber microbial fuel cell. In-situ Co3O4-polyaniline electrode exhibits a great maximum output power density (102.54 mW.m(-2)), which is 2.35 times higher than coating Co3O4-polyaniline electrode (43.6 mW.m(-2)). The results indicate that this binder-free technique for the construction of electrode with a series of advantages such as low cost, good performance, and easy fabrication could be a class of promising alternative strategy for the preparation of microbial fuel cell electrodes to obtain a prominent power generation output.