Synthesis of Iron and Phosphorous-Embedded Nitrogen-Containing Porous Carbon as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Microbial Fuel Cells

Efficient and stable electrocatalysts are required for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). They must be accessible to realize industrialization. Herein, a hierarchically porous phosphorus and iron-embedded nitrogen-containing carbon (P/Fe-SS) was synthesized with shrimp shells as a carbon matrix via a facile oxidation pretreatment and pyrolysis process, where FeCl3 and H3PO4 were used as the catalyst and activator, respectively. Meanwhile, both of them acted as the doping sources to induce more active sites. The optimal pyrolysis temperature (900 degrees C) introduced a large specific surface area (857 m(2)/g) and hierarchical pores, facilitating the exposure of active sites. Furthermore, the presence of pyridinic-N and Fe/P active sites endowed P/Fe-SS 900 with excellent activity during the oxygen reduction reaction process. In particular, P/Fe-SS 900 showed higher long-term stability and poisoning resistance than those of Pt/C. When P/Fe-SS 900 was applied as an air cathode in a MFC, its maximum power density reached 96.7 % of that of Pt/C. These results provide a promising alternative to Pt/C for MFC application due to their low cost, accessibility, and high stability.