Porous monolithic carbon-nanocomposite electrodes based on carbonized wood/ MOF as a free-standing cathode for sediment microbial fuel cells

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Doctoral student of the Department of Wood Technology and Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Wood Technology and Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran.

3 Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Wood Technology and Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Carbon materials bearing advantages such as chemical and thermal stability, electrical conductivity, high specific surface area, and high porosity are widely used in electrode materials. Although the utilization of wood-based carbon materials in electrochemical energy storage devices has good capacitive behavior and it increases charge storage, wood does not show sufficient electrical conductivity due to the inadequate electrical conductivity as a carbon electrode. In order to boost its performance, composites of carbon materials have been synthesized with other conductive materials. In this study, the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of nanocomposite electrodes based on carbonized wood/ Mn-MOF, prepared by the in-situ synthesis method, were assessed. Furthermore, the Performance of these electrodes as the cathode in sediment microbial fuel cells was investigated. Its performance was compared with control wood-based and commercial carbon felt electrodes, too.
Materials and methods: The sapwood blocks of Platanus orientalis as lignocellulosic precursor were pyrolyzed at a temperature of 700 °C and a heating rate of 5 °C min-1 in the argon atmosphere with a constant flow of 100 mLmin-1 and a retention time of 1 h. After pyrolysis, the carbonized wood samples were washed with distilled water and dried in an oven. Then, to synthesize composite electrodes of CW/ Mn-MOF, manganese (II) acetate tetrahydrate, and 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic acid ligand were used. Finally, the samples were washed with ethanol and dried in the oven. Secondary pyrolysis was performed at 900 °C for 2 h in an argon atmosphere and a heating rate of 5 °C min-1.
Results: The results of this study showed that after wood pyrolysis, morphologically, the porous structure and its connected and direct channels were preserved. In addition, in-situ synthesis of Mn-MOF on carbonized wood was successfully performed. According to Raman spectra, the increase in the degree of disordering in the structure of prepared nanocomposite electrodes compared to control carbonized woods was observed. Furthermore, XRD patterns indicate the presence of amorphous and graphitic carbon in graphitic crystals of carbon. In addition, carbon electrodes doped with Mn-MOF showed the lowest impedance and the highest maximum power density compared to control and carbon felt electrodes.
Conclusion: According to the results, high-temperature carbonization causes graphitization of wood material and yields electrical conductivity. Doping of carbon electrodes and fabrication of carbon-nanocomposite electrodes based on carbonized wood/ Mn-MOF promoted the electrochemical performance of the cathode in sediment microbial fuel cells. The synergistic effect between the pseudocapacitive behavior of Mn-MOF and the electrical double-layer capacitance behavior of carbon material improved the performance of the whole SMFC setup.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

1.Zhu, H., Luo, W., Ciesielski, P. N., Fang, Z., Zhu, J. Y., Henriksson, G., Himmel, M. E., & Hu, L. (2016). Wood-derived materials for green electronics, biological devices, and energy applications. Chemical Reviews. 116 (16), 9305-9374.
2.Danhassan, U. A., Lin, H., Lawan, I., Zhang, X., Ali, M. H., Muhammad, A. I., & Sheng, K. (2023). Critical insight into sediment microbial fuel cell: Fundamentals, challenges, and perspectives as a barrier to black-odor water formation. J. of Environmental Chemical Engineering.11 (1), 109098.
3.Hassan, R. Y. A., Febbraio, F., & Andreescu, S. (2021). Microbial electrochemical systems: Principles, construction and biosensing applications. Sensors (Switzerland). 21 (4), 1-19.
4.Zabihallahpoor, A., Rahimnejad, M., & Talebnia, F. (2015). Sediment microbial fuel cells as a new source of renewable and sustainable energy: present status and future prospects. RSC Advances. 5 (114), 94171-94183.
5.Lin, C. W., Jhan, Y. C., Zhu, T. J., & Liu, S. H. (2023). Enhancement of chromium (VI) removal and power generation by adding biochar to a single-medium sediment-based microbial fuel cell. J. of Water Process Engineering. 53 (July), 103612.
6.Lawan, J., Wichai, S., Chuaypen, C., Nuiyen, A., & Phenrat, T. (2022). Constructed sediment microbial fuel cell for treatment of fat, oil, grease (FOG) trap effluent: Role of anode and cathode chamber amendment, electrode selection, and scalability. Chemosphere. 286 (P1), 131619.
7.Liu, S. H., Yang, C. Y., Lin, C. W., & Zhu, T. J. (2023). Promoting removal of copper from sediment and production of bioelectricity by sediment microbial fuel cells using tea extracts. J. of Water Process Engineering. 51 (December 2022), 103454.
8.Abbas, S. Z., Rafatullah, M., Ismail, N., & Syakir, M. I. (2017). A review on sediment microbial fuel cells as a new source of sustainable energy and heavy metal remediation: mechanisms and future prospective. International J. of Energy Research. 41 (9), 1242-1264.
9.You, S., Zhao, Q., Zhang, J., Jiang, J., Wan, C., Du, M., & Zhao, S. (2007). A graphite-granule membrane-less tubular air-cathode microbial fuel cell for power generation under continuously operational conditions. J. of Power Sources.
173 (1), 172-177.
10.Zhou, M., Chi, M., Luo, J., He, H., & Jin, T. (2011). An overview of electrode materials in microbial fuel cells. J. of Power Sources. 196 (10), 4427-4435.
11.Mashkour, M., & Rahimnejad, M. (2015). Effect of various carbon-based cathode electrodes on the performance of microbial fuel cell. Biofuel Research J. 2 (4), 296-300.
12.Mashkour, M., Sharifinia, M., Yousefi, H., & Afra, E. (2018). MWCNT-coated cellulose nanopapers: Droplet-coating, process factors, and electrical conductivity performance. Carbohydrate Polymers. 202, 504-512.
13.Zhang, Z., Deng, S., Wang, D., Qing, Y., Yan, G., Li, L., & Wu, Y. (2023). Low-tortuosity carbon electrode derived from Wood@ZIF-67 for supercapacitor applications. Chemical Engineering J. 454 (P3), 140410.
14.Tian, R., Duan, C., Feng, Y., Cao, M., & Yao, J. (2021). Metal organic framework-based CoNi composites on carbonized wood as advanced freestanding electrodes for supercapacitors. Energy and Fuels. 35 (5), 4604-4608.
15.Luo, H., Zhao, X., Zhang, T., Si, R., Gong, X., Li, C., Kong, F., Liu, Y., Jiang, J., & Chen, H. (2023). Self-supporting porous wood-based carbon with metal-organic framework derived metal bridges for effectively electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution at large current density. International J. of Hydrogen Energy. 48 (25), 9244-9259.
16.Zhang, R., Zhang, Z., Jiang, J., & Pang, H. (2023). Recent electrochemical- energy-storage applications of metal-organic frameworks featuring iron-series elements (Fe, Co, and Ni). J. of Energy Storage. 65 (March), 107217.
17.Zhu, L., Zong, L., Wu, X., Li, M., Wang, H., You, J., & Li, C. (2018). Shapeable fibrous aerogels of metal-organic-frameworks templated with nanocellulose for rapid and large-capacity adsorption. ACS Nano. 12 (5), 4462-4468.
18.Ma, X., Xiong, Y., Liu, Y., Han, J., Duan, G., Chen, Y., He, S., Mei, C., Jiang, S., & Zhang, K. (2022). When MOFs meet wood: From opportunities toward applications. Chem. 8 (9), 2342-2361.
19.Zhang, Z., Qing, Y., Wang, D., Li, L., & Wu, Y. (2023). N-doped carbon fibers derived from porous wood fibers encapsulated in a zeolitic imidazolate framework as an electrode material for supercapacitors. Molecules. 28 (7).
20.Mochidzuki, K., Soutric, F., Tadokoro, K., Antal, M.J., Tóth, M., Zelei, B., & Várhegyi, G. (2003). Electrical and physical properties of carbonized charcoals. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 42 (21), 5140-5151.
21.Kwon, J. H., Park, S. B., Ayrilmis, N., Oh, S. W., & Kim, N. H. (2013). Effect of carbonization temperature on electrical resistivity and physical properties of wood and wood-based composites. Composites Part B: Engineering. 46, 102-107.
22.Barroso Bogeat, A. (2021). Understanding and tuning the electrical conductivity of activated carbon: a state-of-the-art review. Critical Reviews in Solid State and Materials Sciences.46 (1), 1-37.
23.Bartoli, M., Troiano, M., Giudicianni, P., Amato, D., Giorcelli, M., Solimene, R., & Tagliaferro, A. (2022). Effect of heating rate and feedstock nature on electrical conductivity of biochar and biochar-based composites. Applications in Energy and Combustion Science. 12 November 2021, 100089.
24.Li, J., Kumar, A., Johnson, B. A., & Ott, S. (2023). Experimental manifestation of redox-conductivity in metal-organic frameworks and its implication for semiconductor/insulator switching. Nature Communications. 14 (1), 1-10.
25.Lin, S., Usov, P. M., & Morris, A. J. (2018). The role of redox hopping in metal-organic framework electrocatalysis. Chemical Communications. 54 (51), 6965-6974.
26.Xie, L. S., Skorupskii, G., & Dincǎ, M. (2020). Electrically conductive metal-organic frameworks. Chemical Reviews. 120 (16), 8536-8580.
27.Zhang, Z., Yoshikawa, H., & Awaga, K. (2016). Discovery of a “bipolar charging” mechanism in the solid-state electrochemical process of a flexible metal-organic framework. Chemistry of Materials. 28 (5), 1298-1303.
28.Liu, X., & Song, J. (2021). Metal-organic framework materials for supercapacitors. J. of Physics: Conference Series. 2021 (1).
29.Tang, H., Cai, S., Xie, S., Wang, Z., Tong, Y., Pan, M., & Lu, X. (2015). Metal-organic-framework-derived dual metal-and nitrogen-doped carbon as efficient and robust oxygen reduction reaction catalysts for microbial fuel cells. Advanced Science. 3 (2), 1-8.
30.Xue, W., Zhou, Q., & Li, F. (2020). The feasibility of typical metal–organic framework derived Fe, Co, N co-doped carbon as a robust electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cell. Electrochimica Acta. 355 (c), 136775.
31.Gabhi, R., Basile, L., Kirk, D. W., Giorcelli, M., Tagliaferro, A., & Jia, C. Q. (2020). Electrical conductivity of wood biochar monoliths and its dependence on pyrolysis temperature. Biochar. 2 (3), 369-378.
32.Pang, Y. X., Sharmin, N., Wu, T., & Pang, C. H. (2023). An investigation on plant cell walls during biomass pyrolysis: A histochemical perspective on engineering applications. Applied Energy. 343 (March), 121055.
33.Thomas, B., Geng, S., Sain, M., & Oksman, K. (2021). Hetero-porous, high-surface area green carbon aerogels for the next-generation energy storage applications. Nanomaterials. 11 (3), 1-19.
34.Mashkour, M., Rahimnejad, M., Mashkour, M., & Soavi, F. (2021). Increasing bioelectricity generation in microbial fuel cells by a high-performance cellulose-based membrane electrode assembly. Applied Energy. 282 (PA), 116150. 
35.Kim, M. Il, Cho, J. H., Bai, B. C., & Im, J. S. (2020). The control of volume expansion and porosity in carbon block by carbon black (CB) addition for increasing thermal conductivity. Applied Sciences (Switzerland). 10 (17). 
36.Mitsi, E., Stefanis, N. A., & Pournou, A. (2023). Physico-Mechanical Properties of Waterlogged Archaeological Wood: The Case of a Charred Medieval Shipwreck. Forests. 14 (3).
37.Song, P., Chen, C., Shen, X., Zeng, S., Premlatha, S., Ji, Z., Zhai, L., Yuan, A., & Liu, Q. (2022). Metal-organic frameworks-derived carbon modified wood carbon monoliths as three-dimensional self-supported electrodes with boosted electrochemical energy storage performance. J. of Colloid and Interface Science. 620, 376-387.
38.Kwon, S. M., Jang, J. H., & Kim, N. H. (2014). Dimensional change of carbonized woods at low temperatures. J. of forest and environmental science. 30 (2), 226-232.
39.Marcuzzo, J. S., Otani, C., Polidoro, H. A., & Otani, S. (2013). Influence of thermal treatment on porosity formation on carbon fiber from textile PAN. Materials Research. 16 (1), 137-144.
40.Zheng, Z., Liang, G., Li, L., Liu, J., Wang, X., Sun, Y., & Li, K. (2022). Carbon foam-reinforced polyimide-based carbon aerogel composites prepared via co-carbonization as insulation material. Gels. 8 (5), 308.
41.Wang, Z., Zhang, X.F., Shu, L., Yang, L., & Yao, J. (2023). MOF-regulated flexible wood carbon aerogel for pressure sensing. J. of Alloys and Compounds. 947, 169446.
42.Yaman, B. (2009). Comparative wood anatomy of ivy-hosting and non-hosting oriental plane (Platanus orientalis L.). Plant Biosystems. 143 (2), 252-257.
43.Chang, H. C., Gustave, W., Yuan, Z. F., Xiao, Y., & Chen, Z. (2020). One-step fabrication of binder-free air cathode for microbial fuel cells by using balsa wood biochar. Environmental Technology and Innovation. 18, 100615.
44.Gao, M., Lu, M., Zhang, X., Luo, Z., & Xiao, J. (2022). Application of fiber biochar–MOF matrix composites in electrochemical energy storage. Polymers. 14 (12).
45.Xiong, C., Li, B., Liu, H., Zhao, W., Duan, C., Wu, H., & Ni, Y. (2020). A smart porous wood-supported flower-like NiS/Ni conjunction with vitrimer co-effect as a multifunctional material with reshaping, shape-memory, and
self-healing properties for applications in high-performance supercapacitors, catalysts, and sensors. J. of Materials Chemistry A. 8 (21), 10898-10908.
46.Zhang, L., Hu, Y., Chen, J., Huang, W., Cheng, J., & Chen, Y. (2018). A novel metal organic framework-derived carbon-based catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in a microbial fuel cell. J. of Power Sources.384 (November 2017), 98-106.
47.Patwardhan, S. B., Pandit, S., Kumar Gupta, P., Kumar Jha, N., Rawat, J., Joshi, H. C., Priya, K., Gupta, M., Lahiri, D., Nag, M., Kumar Thakur, V., & Kumar Kesari, K. (2022). Recent advances in the application of biochar in microbial electrochemical cells. Fuel. 311.
48.Zhang, R., Hou, Q., Wang, Y., Zhu, W., Fan, J., Zheng, M., & Dong, Q. (2022). A biomass-based hierarchical carbon via MOFs-assisted synthesis for high-rate lithium-ion storage. Electrochemistry Communications. 139 (June), 107310.
49.Lu, Y., Zhu, N., Yin, F., Yang, T., Wu, P., Dang, Z., Liu, M., & Wei, X. (2017). Biomass-derived heteroatoms-doped mesoporous carbon for efficient oxygen reduction in microbial fuel cells. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 98, 350-356.
50.Wu, J. Bin., Lin, M. L., Cong, X., Liu, H. N., & Tan, P. H. (2018). Raman spectroscopy of graphene-based materials and its applications in related devices. Chemical Society Reviews.47 (5), 1822-1873. 
51.Liu, X., Zhou, Y., Zhou, W., Li, L., Huang, S., & Chen, S. (2015). Biomass-derived nitrogen self-doped porous carbon as effective metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction. Nanoscale. 7 (14), 6136-6142.
52.Luo, W., Wang, B., Heron, C. G., Allen, M. J., Morre, J., Maier, C. S., Stickle, W. F., & Ji, X. (2014). Pyrolysis of cellulose under ammonia leads to nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon generated through methane formation. Nano Letters. 14 (4), 2225-2229.
53.Li, C., Zhao, D. H., Long, H. L., & Li, M. (2021). Recent advances in carbonized non-noble metal–organic frameworks for electrochemical catalyst of oxygen reduction reaction. Rare Metals. 40 (10), 2657-2689.
54.Zhang, W., Li, M., Zhong, L., Huang, J., & Liu, M. (2022). A family of MOFs@Wood-derived hierarchical porous composites as freestanding thick electrodes of solid supercapacitors with enhanced areal capacitances and energy densities. Materials Today Energy.24, 100951.
55.Dhanda, A., Raj, R., Sathe, S. M., Dubey, B. K., & Ghangrekar, M. M. (2023). Graphene and biochar-based cathode catalysts for microbial fuel cell: Performance evaluation, economic comparison, environmental and future perspectives. Environmental Research. 231 (P2), 116143.
56.Liou, Y. J., & Huang, W. J. (2013). Quantitative analysis of graphene sheet content in wood char powders during catalytic pyrolysis. J. of Materials Science and Technology. 29 (5), 406-410.
57.Senthilkumar, K., & Naveenkumar, M. (2021). Enhanced performance study of microbial fuel cell using waste biomass-derived carbon electrode. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. 13 (7), 5921-5929.
58.Jia, M., Zhang, X. F., Feng, Y., Zhou, Y., & Yao, J. (2020). In-situ growing ZIF-8 on cellulose nanofibers to form gas separation membrane for CO2 separation. J. of Membrane Science. 595, 117579.
59.Qu, W. H., Xu, Y. Y., Lu, A. H., Zhang, X. Q., & Li, W. C. (2015). Converting biowaste corncob residue into high value added porous carbon for supercapacitor electrodes. Bioresource Technology. 189, 285-291.
60.Shrestha, D. (2022). Evaluation of physical and electrochemical performances of hardwood and softwood derived activated carbons for supercapacitor application. Materials Science for Energy Technologies. 5, 353-365.
61.Zhang, Z., Li, L., Qing, Y., Lu, X., Wu, Y., Yan, N., & Yang, W. (2018). Hierarchically interconnected n-doped carbon aerogels derived from cellulose nanofibrils as high performance and stable electrodes for supercapacitors. J. of Physical Chemistry C. 122 (42), 23852-23860.
62.Zhao, Y., Shi, J., Wang, X., Li, W., Wu, Y., & Jiang, Z. (2020). Biomass@MOF-derived carbon aerogels with a hierarchically structured surface for treating organic pollutants. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research. 59 (39), 17529-17536.
63.Yu, J., Sun, L., Berrueco, C., Fidalgo, B., Paterson, N., & Millan, M. (2018). Influence of temperature and particle size on structural characteristics of chars from Beechwood pyrolysis. J. of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis.130, 127-134.
64.Zhao, F., Slade, R. C. T., & Varcoe, J. R. (2009). Techniques for the study and development of microbial fuel cells: An electrochemical perspective. Chemical Society Reviews. 38 (7), 1926-1939.
65.Ruiz, V., Blanco, C., Santamaría, R., Ramos-Fernández, J. M., Martínez-Escandell, M., Sepúlveda-Escribano, A., & Rodríguez-Reinoso, F. (2009). An activated carbon monolith as an electrode material for supercapacitors. Carbon. 47 (1), 195-200.
66.Wang, M., Zhang, J., Yi, X., Zhao, X., Liu, B., & Liu, X. (2020). Nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon derived from ZIF-8 supported on carbon aerogels with advanced performance for supercapacitor. Applied Surface Science. 507 (December 2019), 145166.
67.Zhang, H., Guo, H., Zhang, J., Li, C., Chen, Y., Wu, N., Pan, Z., & Yang, W. (2022). NiCo-MOF directed NiCoP
and coconut shell derived porous carbon as high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. J. of Energy Storage.
54 (June), 105356.
68.Yang, W., Li, J., Zhang, L., Zhu, X., & Liao, Q. (2017). A monolithic air cathode derived from bamboo for microbial fuel cells. RSC Advances. 7 (45), 28469-28475.
69.Zha, Z., Zhang, Z., Xiang, P., Zhu, H., Zhou, B., Sun, Z., & Zhou, S. (2020). One-step preparation of eggplant-derived hierarchical porous graphitic biochar as efficient oxygen reduction catalyst in microbial fuel cells. RSC Advances. 11 (2) 1077-1085.
70.Phiri, J., Dou, J., Vuorinen, T., Gane, P. A. C., & Maloney, T. C. (2019). Highly porous willow wood-derived activated carbon for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. ACS Omega. 4 (19), 18108-18117.
Journal of Wood and Forest Science and Technology
Volume 30, Issue 4
December 2024
Pages 18-37

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics