Boosting oxygen reduction and permeability properties of doped iron-porphyrin membrane cathode in microbial fuel cells

Abstract To achieve a membrane cathode with excellent performance, iron-porphyrin (Fe(por)) was doped to boost the catalytic and permeability properties in microbial fuel cell (MFC). The membrane cathode with optimal 0.05 g of Fe(por) (denoted as Fe(por)-0.05) had the highest current density of 10.3 A m–2 and the lowest charge transfer resistance of 12.6 ± 0.3 Ω. The ring-disk electrode (RDE) results further proved that the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) occurred on the Fe(por)-0.05 through a direct four-electron transfer pathway. Moreover, the membrane cathode performed better permeability properties under electric filed and the Fe(por)-0.05+E (E was electric field) obtained the lowest flux attenuation ratio of 14.1 ± 0.2%, which was related to its superior hydrophilicity and strong electrostatic repulsion force. Iron-porphyrin can simultaneously enhance the ORR activity and permeability of membrane cathode, providing a new direction for the practical application in MFCs.