title: Flame oxidation of stainless steel felt enhances anodic biofilm formation and current output in bioelectrochemical systems.
abstract: Stainless steel (SS) can be an attractive material to create large electrodes for microbial bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), due to its low cost and high conductivity. However, poor biocompatibility limits its successful application today. Here we report a simple and effective method to make SS electrodes biocompatible by means of flame oxidation. Physicochemical characterization of electrode surface indicated that iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were generated in situ on an SS felt surface by flame oxidation. IONPs-coating dramatically enhanced the biocompatibility of SS felt and consequently resulted in a robust electroactive biofilm formation at its surface in BESs. The maximum current densities reached at IONPs-coated SS felt electrodes were 16.5 times and 4.8 times higher than the untreated SS felts and carbon felts, respectively. Furthermore, the maximum current density achieved with the IONPs-coated SS felt (1.92 mA/cm(2), 27.42 mA/cm(3)) is one of the highest current densities reported thus far. These results demonstrate for the first time that flame oxidized SS felts could be a good alternative to carbon-based electrodes for achieving high current densities in BESs. Most importantly, high conductivity, excellent mechanical strength, strong chemical stability, large specific surface area, and comparatively low cost of flame oxidized SS felts offer exciting opportunities for scaling-up of the anodes for BESs.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology, Ghent University , Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Bogdan C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Donose
authors.forename: Alexander H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Soeriyadi
authors.forename: Antonin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prévoteau
authors.forename: Sunil A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Freguia
authors.forename: J Justin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gooding
authors.forename: Korneel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rabaey
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D019149:Bioreactors; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077482:Carbon Fiber; D002384:Catalysis; D004560:Electricity; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004566:Electrodes; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000077482:Carbon Fiber; D013193:Stainless Steel; D002244:Carbon