Graphene Supported Pt-Co Alloy Nanoparticles as Cathode Catalyst for Microbial Fuel Cells

High catalytic activity of Pt-Co/G (15 wt% Pt) alloy particles are synthesized on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and reduced by simple ethylene glycol (EG). The results of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis show that the average size of metal particles is ca. 4.1 nm, and the metal particals are highly dispersed on the graphene. The cyclic voltammogram was used for evaluating the electrocatalytic activity of the catalyst. In addition, the performance of this catalyst was investigated in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). It produced a maximum power density of 1378 mW/m 2 , which was quite close to that with a Pt/C (20 wt% Pt) cathode (1406 mW/m 2 ); the Coulombic efficiency reaches 71.6%, which was better than that of the Pt/C (52.0 %). And the total cost of Pt- Co/G catalyst were lower than that of Pt/C catalyst. Thus, the Pt-Co/G probably provides a new solution for finding effective cathode materials for MFC.