Materials Chemistry and Physics 240 (2020) 122208 Available online 22 September 2019 0254-0584/© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Effcient improvement of microbial fuel cell performance by the modifcation of graphite cathode via electrophoretic deposition of CuO/ ZnO Rana Tajdid Khajeh a , Soheil Aber a, * , Katayoon Nofouzi b a Research Laboratory of Environmental Protection Technology (RLEPT), Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran b Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran HIGHLIGHTS G R A P H I C A L ABSTRACT � CuO/ZnO-modifed graphite was used as MFC cathode for the frst time. � The modifcation of cathode increased the maximum voltage under irradiation. � A maximum power density of 2.74 times of bare graphite was achievable. � The reusability of the modifed elec- trode was confrmed for 10 cycles. A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Electrophoretic deposition Graphite Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) ABSTRACT Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are considered renewable energy sources in recent years. Their major advantages are energy production, wastewater treatment, and application of microorganisms as available and inexpensive biocatalysts. In this study, the electrophoretic deposition of CuO/ZnO nanoparticles on the surface of graphite electrode and also the performance of the modifed electrode as the cathode of an H-type MFC were investigated, for the frst time. FESEM, XRD, EDX, and elemental mapping were used to characterize the nanoparticles and the modifed electrode. According to the FESEM and elemental mapping analyses, the nanoparticle immobilization was homogeneous on the surface of the electrode. The ability of the modifed electrode was investigated on decreasing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) overpotential. The MFC performance was evaluated with and without visible light irradiation. The maximum voltage of 363.5 mV was achieved by the modifed graphite electrode under the irradiation after 47 h. This maximum voltage was 32.22% higher than that of the bare graphite. The maximum power density of the modifed electrode was 51.84 mW m 2 at a current density of 144 mA m 2 , i.e. 2.74 times of the bare graphite under visible light irradiation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were used to evaluate the electrochemical behavior of the modifed electrode, showing the improvement of the electrochemical activity of the modifed graphite compared with the bare one. Abbreviations: AO7, Acid orange 7; CV, Cyclic voltammetry; DLS, Dynamic light scattering; EDX, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy; EIS, Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; EPD, Electrophoretic deposition; FESEM, Field emission scanning electron microscopy; MEC, Microbial electrolysis cell; MFC, Microbial fuel cell; ORR, Oxygen reduction reaction; SCE, Standard calomel electrode; SNF, Solid-non-fat. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: soheil_aber@yahoo.com, s_aber@tabrizu.ac.ir (S. Aber). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Materials Chemistry and Physics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matchemphys https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2019.122208 Received 28 June 2019; Received in revised form 30 August 2019; Accepted 21 September 2019