Carbon Nanotubes Conjugated Mesoporous Tungsten Trioxide as Anode Electrocatalyst for Microbial Fuel Cells

Abstract

We report a novel anode electrocatalyst for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Mesoporous tungsten trioxide (m-WO 3 ) was synthesized from mesoporous silica template and mixed with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), resulting in electrocatalyst CNTs/m-WO 3 . The introduction of CNTs not only enhances the electronic conductivity but also yields a delocalization of m-WO 3 , which enhances the conjugated interaction of CNTs with m-WO 3 . Electrochemical measurements indicate that the resulting CNTs/m-WO 3 exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activities, enabling the MFC based on Escherichia Coli with a maximum power density of 1.11 ± 0.022 W m −2 , which is strikingly higher than the MFC using m-WO 3 anode (0.76 ± 0.017 W m −2 ), and comparable to that using platinum anode (1.26 ± 0.025 W m −2 ). The proposed conjugated structure strategy provides an inspiration in designing new electrocatalysts for improving output power density of MFCs.