Azadirachta indica leaf-extract-assisted synthesis of CoO–NiO mixed metal oxide for application in a microbial fuel cell as a cathode catalyst

摘要: In this study, a highly efficient yet low-cost mixed transition metal oxide of Ni and Co as CoO–NiO was synthesized using Azadirachta indica leaf extract bioactive chelating agent. The as-synthesized further used cathode catalyst to improve the performance microbial fuel cell (MFC). X-ray diffraction transmission electron microscopy revealed successful synthesis with cubic symmetry. Cyclic voltammetry analysis showed clear reduction current peak response 3.2 mA, whereas CoO NiO same technique also demonstrated peak, but lower responses 2.5 mA 1 respectively. MFC could produce substantially higher power density 703 mW m−2 at coulombic efficiency 22.9%, compared control (57 m−2) (616 (544 m−2). addition, MFCs remove chemical oxygen demand from synthetic wastewater an 86%, which highest among tested MFCs. These results illustrated superiority MFCs, importantly, we utilized green approach for synthesizing catalyst, supports environmental sustainability.