One-step ball milling-prepared nano Fe2O3 and nitrogen-doped graphene with high oxygen reduction activity and its application in microbial fuel cells

• Nano Fe₂O₃ and N-doped graphene was prepared via a one-step ball milling method. • The maximum power density of Fe-N-G in MFC was 390% of that of pristine graphite. • Active sites like nano Fe₂O₃, pyridinic N and Fe-N groups were formed in Fe-N-G. • The improvement of Fe-N-G was due to full exposure of active sites on graphene. Developing high activity, low-cost and long durability catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction is of great significance for the practical application of microbial fuel cells. The full exposure of active sites in catalysts can enhance catalytic activity dramatically. Here, novel Fe-N-doped graphene is successfully synthesized via a one-step in situ ball milling method. Pristine graphite, ball milling graphene, N-doped graphene and Fe-N-doped graphene are applied in air cathodes, and enhanced performance is observed in microbial fuel cells with graphene-based catalysts. Particularly, Fe-N-doped graphene achieves the highest oxygen reduction reaction activity, with a maximum power density of 1380±20 mW/m² in microbial fuel cells and a current density of 23.8 A/m² at –0.16 V in electrochemical tests, which are comparable to commercial Pt and 390% and 640% of those of pristine graphite. An investigation of the material characteristics reveals that the superior performance of Fe-N-doped graphene results from the full exposure of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles, pyrrolic N, pyridinic N and excellent Fe-N-G active sites on the graphene matrix. This work not only suggests the strategy of maximally exposing active sites to optimize the potential of catalysts but also provides promising catalysts for the use of microbial fuel cells in sustainable energy generation.     

乙二胺溶胶凝胶法氮掺杂TiO2的光催化研究

以钛酸四丁酯(TBT),乙二胺(EDA)为前驱体,乙醇为溶剂,冰醋酸为抑制剂,采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了N掺杂纳米TiO2光催化剂。通过紫外-可见吸收光谱(UV-Vis)、荧光发射光谱(FES)、X射线衍射光谱(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、和BET比表面分析对其光谱特征、晶相结构、表面组成、比表面积进行了表征,以苯酚为模拟污染物考察了其光催化活性。结果表明:该方法制备的N掺杂纳米TiO2的光谱吸收带发生了明显红移,当EDA/TBT(摩尔比)=1/10及焙烧温度为550℃时,所制备样品对可见光的吸收最强,可见光照射150min苯酚的降解率为34.6%,紫外光照射100min苯酚的降解率达到97.8%。     

氮掺杂TiO_2光催化降解甲基橙染料废水的试验研究

采用溶胶-凝胶法以尿素为氮源制备了氮掺杂锐钛矿型纳米TiO2光催化剂(TEM像图显示制备的样品的平均粒径在20 nm左右,UV-vis漫反射分析表明氮掺杂使催化剂的吸收带边红移至550 nm的可见光区域),以氙灯为辐照光源,用自制光催化反应器降解甲基橙染料溶液,研究了催化剂用量、染料初始浓度和环境pH值变化对甲基橙降解率的影响,同时考察了催化剂在太阳光下的光催化活性,结果表明:当催化剂用量为2 g/L、溶液pH值为2.74时,初始浓度为10 mg/L的甲基橙在氙灯光照45 min后降解率达100%;自然光照120 min后降解率为95.4%。