The improvement of catalytic efficiency by optimizing Pt on carbon cloth as a cathode of a microbial fuel cell

Abstract

This paper presents the performance of Pt deposited by different deposition methods, including electrodeposition, e-gun, and sputtering on a carbon cloth as a cathode in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) system. The results indicate that Pt deposited by electrodeposition exhibits the highest active efficiency on hydrogen electroabsorption. According to XPS fitting results, the amount of Pt (0), zero-valent Pt, existing in Pt deposited on carbon cloth by electrodeposition was larger than that in Pt deposited by e-gun and sputtering. The cyclic voltammogram analyses also show more real active surface area of Pt deposited by electrodeposition, mostly contributed by its smaller particle size/shape and higher catalytic effect. Besides, the total impedance of Pt deposited by electrodeposition was lower than that of Pt deposited by e-gun and sputtering from EIS measurement at 0.1 Hz. Applied to MFC system, the highest power density was manifested and the least Pt loading were observed for the Pt deposited on carbon cloth by electrodeposition. It is therefore can be concluded that the electrodeposited-Pt exhibit superior performance as a cathode for future MFC applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.