title: A μL-scale micromachined microbial fuel cell having high power density.
abstract: We report a MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)-based microbial fuel cell (MFC) that produces a high power density. The MFC features 4.5-μL anode/cathode chambers defined by 20-μm-thick photo-definable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films. The MFC uses a Geobacter-enriched mixed bacterial culture, anode-respiring bacteria (ARB) that produces a conductive biofilm matrix. The MEMS MFC generated a maximum current density of 16,000 μA cm(-3) (33 μA cm(-2)) and power density of 2300 μW cm(-3) (4.7 μW cm(-2)), both of which are substantially greater than achieved by previous MEMS MFCs. The coulombic efficiency of the MEMS MFC was at least 31%, by far the highest value among reported MEMS MFCs. The performance improvements came from using highly efficient ARB, minimizing the impact of oxygen intrusion to the anode chamber, having a large specific surface area that led to low internal resistance.
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA. shchoi2@asu.edu
authors.forename: Seokheun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Hyung-Sool
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yongmo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Prathap
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parameswaran
authors.forename: César I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Bruce E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Rittmann
authors.forename: Junseok
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chae
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004566:Electrodes; D045302:Geobacter / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; C013830:baysilon