In-situ growing NiCo2O4 nanoplatelets on carbon cloth as binder-free catalyst air-cathode for high-performance microbial fuel cells

•NiCo2O4 nanoplatelets were in-situ growing on carbon cloth as ORR catalyst in biofuel cells.•Binder-free cathode with the lower internal resistance.•Binder-free cathode was low-cost.•NiCo2O4-CFC shows better power generation performance than Pt/C.

Air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was one of most promising sustainable new energy device as well as an advanced sewage treatment technology, and thoroughly studies have been devoted to lower its cost and enhance its power generation. Herein, a binder-free and low-cost catalyst air-cathode was fabricated by in-situ electro-deposition of NiCo2O4 nanoplatelets on carbon cloth, followed by feasible calcinations. The catalytic activity of catalyst air-cathode was optimized by varying the deposition time. And the optimal air-cathode was installed in real MFCs and exhibited distinct maximum out-put power density (645 ± 6 mW m−2), which was 12.96% higher than commercial Pt/C (571 ± 11 mW m−2). Noted that its remarkable electricity generation performance in MFCs should absolutely attributed to the well catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction, and more likely ascribed to its low internal resistance since binder-free catalyst air-cathode can facilitate the electron/charge transfer process. Therefore, it was an efficient strategy to improve the electricity generation performance of MFCs by using this binder-free catalyst air-cathode, which was also potential for application in many other electrochemical devices.

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