Conjugated oligoelectrolytes increase power generation in E. coli microbial fuel cells.
A series of conjugated oligoelectrolytes with structural variations is used to stain E. coli. By taking advantage of a high-throughput screening platform that incorporates gold anodes, it is found that MFCs with COE-modified E. coli generate significantly higher power densities, relative to unmodified E. coli. These findings highlight the potential of using water-soluble molecules inspired by the work on organic semiconductors to improve electrode/microbe interfaces.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Polymers and Organic Solids, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93117, USA.
Huijie
H
Hou
Xiaofen
X
Chen
Alexander W
AW
Thomas
Chelsea
C
Catania
Nathan D
ND
Kirchhofer
Logan E
LE
Garner
Arum
A
Han
Guillermo C
GC
Bazan
D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D004560:Electricity; D004566:Electrodes; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D012666:Semiconductors
D004573:Electrolytes