BaTiO<sub>3</sub> Functional Perovskite as Photocathode in Microbial Fuel Cells for Energy Production and Wastewater Treatment
Noureddine Touach,
Abdellah Benzaouak,
Jamil Toyir,
Youssra El Hamdouni,
Mohammed El Mahi,
El Mostapha Lotfi,
Najoua Labjar,
Mohamed Kacimi,
Leonarda Francesca Liotta
Affiliations
Noureddine Touach
Laboratory of Spectroscopy, Molecular Modelling, Materials, Nanomaterials, Water and Environment, Environmental Materials Team, ENSAM, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Avenue des Forces Armées Royales, Rabat B.P. 6207, Morocco
Abdellah Benzaouak
Laboratory of Spectroscopy, Molecular Modelling, Materials, Nanomaterials, Water and Environment, Environmental Materials Team, ENSAM, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Avenue des Forces Armées Royales, Rabat B.P. 6207, Morocco
Jamil Toyir
Laboratoire des Procédés, Matériaux et Environnement (LPME), Faculté Polydisciplinaire (FP-Taza), Faculté des Sciences Et Techniques de Fès (FST-Fès), Université Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Taza B.P. 1223, Morocco
Youssra El Hamdouni
Laboratory of Spectroscopy, Molecular Modelling, Materials, Nanomaterials, Water and Environment, Environmental Materials Team, ENSAM, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Avenue des Forces Armées Royales, Rabat B.P. 6207, Morocco
Mohammed El Mahi
Laboratory of Spectroscopy, Molecular Modelling, Materials, Nanomaterials, Water and Environment, Environmental Materials Team, ENSAM, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Avenue des Forces Armées Royales, Rabat B.P. 6207, Morocco
El Mostapha Lotfi
Laboratory of Spectroscopy, Molecular Modelling, Materials, Nanomaterials, Water and Environment, Environmental Materials Team, ENSAM, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Avenue des Forces Armées Royales, Rabat B.P. 6207, Morocco
Najoua Labjar
Laboratory of Spectroscopy, Molecular Modelling, Materials, Nanomaterials, Water and Environment, Environmental Materials Team, ENSAM, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Avenue des Forces Armées Royales, Rabat B.P. 6207, Morocco
Mohamed Kacimi
Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Materials, Catalysis and Environment, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat B.P. 1014, Morocco
Leonarda Francesca Liotta
Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN)-CNR, via Ugo La Malfa, 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) provide new opportunities for the sustainable production of energy, converting organic matter into electricity through microorganisms. Moreover, MFCs play an important role in remediation of environmental pollutants from wastewater with power generation. This work focuses on the evaluation of ferroelectric perovskite materials as a new class of non-precious photocatalysts for MFC cathode construction. Nanoparticles of BaTiO3 (BT) were prepared and tested in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) as photocathode catalytic components. The catalyst phases were synthesized, identified and characterized by XRD, SEM, UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, P-E hysteresis and dielectric measurements. The maximum absorption of BT nanoparticles was recorded at 285 nm and the energy gap (Eg) was estimated to be 3.77 eV. Photocatalytic performance of cathodes coated with BaTiO3 was measured in a dark environment and then in the presence of a UV–visible (UV–Vis) light source, using a mixture of dairy industry and domestic wastewater as a feedstock for the MFCs. The performance of the BT cathodic component is strongly dependent on the presence of UV–Vis irradiation. The BT-based cathode functioning under UV–visible light improves the maximum power densities and the open circuit voltage (OCV) of the MFC system. The values increased from 64 mW m−2 to 498 mW m−2 and from 280 mV to 387 mV, respectively, showing that the presence of light effectively improved the photocatalytic activity of this ceramic. Furthermore, the MFCs operating under optimal conditions were able to reduce the chemical oxygen demand load in wastewater by 90% (initial COD = 2500 mg L−1).
