Application of Reticulated Vitreous Carbons doped with low-cost catalysts as the cathodes in microbial fuel cells

Reticulated Vitreous Carbons (RVCs) doped with low-cost catalysts, such as PANI (polyaniline), PANI+FePc (iron(II) phthalocyanine) and PANI+CuPc (copper phthalocyanine), were used as the cathodes in air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Cyclic Voltammograms (CV) showed that the electrochemical activity was considerably enhanced by doping the catalysts on the plain RVC material. The greatest enhancement of the electrochemical activity was obtained with PANI+FePc, followed by PANI+CuPc and then PANI alone. Total internal resistance of the MFC with RVC cathode doped with PANI+FePc was the lowest at 136 Ω, followed by the RVC coated with PANI+CuPc (211 Ω) and then PANI (739 Ω). The maximum power density of 91.29 mW/m2 was obtained with the RVC cathode coated with PANI+FePc. The COD removal and coulombic efficiencies were also affected by the cathode material. The highest COD removal and coulombic efficiencies of 98 and 15%, respectively, were obtained using the RVC coated with PANI+FePc as the cathode material. In conclusion, the RVC coated with PANI+FePc was found to be the best alternative cathode material tested in these experiments.