Medium-chain-length poly-3-hydroxyalkanoates-carbon nanotubes composite as proton exchange membrane in microbial fuel cell

Highly porous ZIF-67 (Zeolitic imidazole framework) has a conductive crystalline metal organic framework (MOF) structure which was served as a precursor and template for the preparation of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) electrocatalysts. As a first step, the chloroplatinic acid, a platinum (Pt) precursor was infiltrated in ZIF-67 with a precise amount to obtain 0.12 mg.cm-2 Pt loading. Later, the infiltrated structure was calcined at 700°C in Ar:H2 (90:10 vol%) gas mixture. Multi-walled nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes were grown on the surface of ZIF-67 crystals following thermal activation at 700°C. The resulting PtCo-NCNTs electrocatalysts were deposited on Nafion-212 solid electrolyte membrane by spray technique to study the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in the presence of H2/O2 gases in a temperature range of 50-70°C. The present study elucidates the performance of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes ORR electrocatalysts derived from ZIF-67 and the effects of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) steaming on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) employing PtCo-NCNTs as ORR electrocatalysts. We observed that the peak power density at 70°C was 450 mW/cm2 for steamed membrane electrode assembly (MEA) compared to 392 mW/cm2 for an identical MEA without steaming.

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Hydrogen generation from LiBH 4 solution catalyzed by multiwalled carbon nanotubes supported Co–B nanocatalysts for a portable micro proton exchange membrane fuel cell application

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy ◽

10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.07.092 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 39 (27) ◽

pp. 14942-14948 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Baicheng Weng ◽

Fenghua Xu ◽

Zhu Wu ◽

Zhilin Li

Keyword(s):

Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Proton Exchange Membrane ◽

Hydrogen Generation ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Multiwalled Carbon ◽

Fuel Cell Application ◽

Exchange Membrane

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Electricity generation and removal performance of a microbial fuel cell using sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) as proton exchange membrane to treat phenol/acetone wastewater

Bioresource Technology ◽

10.1016/j.biortech.2018.03.133 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 260 ◽

pp. 130-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Hao Wu ◽

Yu Fu ◽

Chunyu Guo ◽

Yanbo Li ◽

Nanzhe Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Microbial Fuel Cell ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Proton Exchange Membrane ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Ether Ether Ketone ◽

Poly Ether Ether Ketone ◽

Ether Ketone ◽

Exchange Membrane ◽

Sulfonated Poly

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Comparative Study on the Effects of Three Membrane Modification Methods on the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cell

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13061383 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1383 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Liping Fan ◽

Junyi Shi ◽

Tian Gao

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Fuel Cells ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Microbial Fuel Cell ◽

Water Purification ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Proton Exchange Membrane ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Generation Capacity ◽

Exchange Membrane

Proton exchange membrane is an important factor affecting the power generation capacity and water purification effect of microbial fuel cells. The performance of microbial fuel cells can be improved by modifying the proton exchange membrane by some suitable method. Microbial fuel cells with membranes modified by SiO2/PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride), sulfonated PVDF and polymerized MMA (methyl methacrylate) electrolyte were tested and their power generation capacity and water purification effect were compared. The experimental results show that the three membrane modification methods can improve the power generation capacity and water purification effect of microbial fuel cells to some extent. Among them, the microbial fuel cell with the polymerized MMA modified membrane showed the best performance, in which the output voltage was 39.52 mV, and the electricity production current density was 18.82 mA/m2, which was 2224% higher than that of microbial fuel cell with the conventional Nafion membrane; and the COD (chemical oxygen demand) removal rate was 54.8%, which was 72.9% higher than that of microbial fuel cell with the conventional Nafion membrane. Modifying the membrane with the polymerized MMA is a very effective way to improve the performance of microbial fuel cells.

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