One-Step Synthesis of N-Doped Carbon and Its Application as a Cost-Efficient Catalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Microbial Fuel Cells

Nitrogen-doped carbon with a high surface area was prepared by the one-step pyrolysis of cellulose paper under NH3 gas, and has been developed as an alternative to Pt/C for the oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cells (MFCs).The electrochemical tests showed that the catalytic performance of N-doped carbon in neutral media was significantly better than that of undoped carbon, with an onset of 0.21V. The maximum power density of MFCs with the N-doped carbon catalyst (1041 +/- 90mWm(-2)) was much higher than that of Pt/C-based MFC (584 +/- 10mWm(-2)), while the cost was significantly lower. These results demonstrated that such N-doped carbon has the advantages of low cost and high efficiency, and can be a promising alternative to Pt/C in large-scale applications of MFCs.