Bimetallic catalysts as electrocatalytic cathode materials for the oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cell: A review

Abstract

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is one synchronous power generation device for wastewater treatment that takes into account environmental and energy issues, exhibiting promising potential. Sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics on the cathode remains by far the most critical bottleneck hindering the practical application of MFC. An ideal cathode catalyst should possess excellent ORR activity, stability, and cost-effectiveness, experiments have demonstrated that bimetallic catalysts are one of the most promising ORR catalysts currently. Based on this, this review mainly analyzes the reaction mechanism (ORR mechanisms, synergistic effects), advantages (combined with characterization technologies), and typical synthesis methods of bimetallic catalysts, focusing on the application effects of early Pt-M (M = Fe, Co, and Ni) alloys to bifunctional catalysts in MFC, pointing out that the main existing challenges remain economic analysis, long-term durability and large-scale application, and looking forward to this. At last, the research trend of bimetallic catalysts suitable for MFC is evaluated, and it is considered that the development and research of metal-organic framework (MOF)-based bimetallic catalysts are still worth focusing on in the future, intending to provide a reference for MFC to achieve energy-efficient wastewater treatment.

Keywords

• Bimetallic catalysts
• Oxygen reduction reaction
• Microbial fuel cell
• Wastewater treatment
• Power generation