Mo2N nanobelt cathodes for efficient hydrogen production in microbial electrolysis cells with shaped biofilm microbiome

Abstract

High cost platinum (Pt) catalysts limit the application of microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) for hydrogen (H2) production. Here, inexpensive and efficient Mo2N nanobelt cathodes were prepared using an ethanol method with minimized catalyst and binder loadings. The chronopotentiometry tests demonstrated that the Mo2N nanobelt cathodes had similar catalytic activities for H2 evolution compared to that of Pt/C (10 wt%). The H2 production rates (0.39 vs. 0.37 m3-H2/m3/d), coulombic efficiencies (90% vs. 77%), and overall hydrogen recovery (74% vs. 70%) of MECs with the Mo2N nanobelt cathodes were also comparable to those with Pt/C cathodes. However, the cost of Mo2N nanobelt catalyst ($ 31/m2) was much less than that of Pt/C catalysts ($ 1930/m2). Furthermore, the biofilm microbiomes at electrodes were studied using the PacBio sequencing of full-length 16S rRNA gene. It indicated Stenotrophomonas nitritireducens as a putative electroactive bacterium dominating the anode biofilm microbiomes. The majority of dominant species in the Mo2N and Pt/C cathode communities belonged to Stenotrophomonas nitritireducens, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Comamonas testosterone. The dominant populations in the cathode biofilms were shaped by the cathode materials. This study demonstrated Mo2N nanobelt catalyst as an alternative to Pt catalyst for H2 production in MECs.