Carbon nanotube modification of microbial fuel cell electrodes Alireza Ahmadian Yazdi a , Lorenzo D’Angelo a , Nada Omer a , Gracia Windiasti b , Xiaonan Lu b , Jie Xu a,n a Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA b Faculty of Land and Food Systems, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada article info Article history: Received 23 February 2016 Received in revised form 21 April 2016 Accepted 8 May 2016 Available online 10 May 2016 Keywords: Carbon nanotube Microbial fuel cell design Nanocomposites Oxygen reduction reaction Thin film fabrication abstract The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for energy harvesting devices is preferable due to their unique mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. On the other hand, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are pro- mising devices to recover carbon–neutral energy from the organic matters, and have been hindered with major setbacks towards commercialization. Nanoengineered CNT–based materials show remarkable electrochemical properties, and therefore have provided routes towards highly effective modification of MFC compartments to ultimately reach the theoretical limits of biomass energy recovery, low–cost power production, and thus the commercialization of MFCs. Moreover, these CNT–based composites offer significant flexibility in the design of MFCs that enable their use for a broad spectrum of applications ranging from scaled–up power generation to medically related devices. This article reviews the recent advances in the modification of MFCs using CNTs and CNT–based composites, and the extent to which each modification route impacts MFC power and current generation. & 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 537 2. Towards the fabrication of CNT–based electrodes .......................................................................... 538 2.1. Synthesis of pristine CNTs ....................................................................................... 538 2.2. Functionalization of CNTs ....................................................................................... 538 2.3. Assembly of CNT–based materials ................................................................................ 539 2.3.1. CNT–based thin films .................................................................................... 539 2.3.2. CNT–based monolith structures ........................................................................... 540 2.3.2.1. CNT aerogel ........................................................................................... 540 2.3.2.2. CNT foam ............................................................................................. 540 2.3.2.3. CNT sponge ........................................................................................... 540 3. Anode modification .................................................................................................. 542 3.1. Bacteria/electrode interaction .................................................................................... 542 3.2. CNT–based anode materials ..................................................................................... 542 3.2.1. Polymer/CNT .......................................................................................... 542 3.2.2. Metal/CNT ............................................................................................ 543 3.3. CNT–based anode assembly ..................................................................................... 543 3.3.1. Thin film structures ..................................................................................... 543 3.3.2. Self–assembled structures ................................................................................ 544 3.3.3. Monolith structures ..................................................................................... 544 4. Cathode modification ................................................................................................ 546 4.1. Oxygen reduction mechanism on CNTs ............................................................................ 546 4.2. CNT–based cathode materials .................................................................................... 546 4.2.1. Pre-functionalized CNTs.................................................................................. 546 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bios Biosensors and Bioelectronics http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2016.05.033 0956-5663/& 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Xu). Biosensors and Bioelectronics 85 (2016) 536–552
Carbon nanotube modification of microbial fuel cell electrodes
Jun 17, 2023
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