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Green‐Synthesized Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon‐Based Aerogels as Environmentally Friendly Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction in Microbial Fuel Cells
Author(s) -
Salvador Gian Paolo,
Gerosa Matteo,
Sacco Adriano,
Garino Nadia,
Castellino Micaela,
Massaglia Giulia,
Delmondo Luisa,
Agostino Valeria,
Margaria Valentina,
Chiodoni Angelica,
Quaglio Marzia
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201700615
Subject(s) - aerogel , catalysis , microbial fuel cell , carbon fibers , nitrogen , environmentally friendly , materials science , chemical engineering , electrochemistry , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , nanotechnology , electrode , anode , ecology , engineering , composite number , composite material , biology
A green approach to the synthesis of nitrogen‐doped, carbon‐based aerogels with good conductivity and catalytic properties is presented. With the aim to design an easily sustainable process, the starting precursors are selected from abundant waste‐related organic materials. The naturally derived polysaccharide agar acts as the carbon source in a water solution and an amino acid, glycine or lysine, is used as the nitrogen source. Using this synthesis approach, nitrogen defects are created in a 3D porous aerogel. They are shown to act as active catalytic sites for the reaction of oxygen reduction to water as demonstrated by electrochemical measurements. The best performing materials are tested as cathodes in microbial fuel cells for 50 days, in conditions close to those the device would face in a real environment. The glycine‐derived carbon aerogels with the higher content of pyridinic nitrogen exhibit the best performance, as confirmed by several morphological characterizations.