title: Synthesis and application of polypyrrole/carrageenan nano-bio composite as a cathode catalyst in microbial fuel cells.
abstract: A novel nano-bio composite polypyrrole (PPy)/kappa-carrageenan(KC) was fabricated and characterized for application as a cathode catalyst in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). High resolution SEM and TEM verified the bud-like shape and uniform distribution of the PPy in the KC matrix. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has approved the amorphous structure of the PPy/KC as well. The PPy/KC nano-bio composites were then studied as an electrode material, due to their oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) ability as the cathode catalyst in the MFC and the results were compared with platinum (Pt) as the most common cathode catalyst. The produced power density of the PPy/KC was 72.1 mW/m(2) while it was 46.8 mW/m(2) and 28.8 mW/m(2) for KC and PPy individually. The efficiency of the PPy/KC electrode system is slightly lower than a Pt electrode (79.9 mW/m(2)) but due to the high cost of Pt electrodes, the PPy/KC electrode system has potential to be an alternative electrode system for MFCs.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-UKM, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Chakavak
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Esmaeili
authors.affiliation: Fuel Cell Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-UKM, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-UKM, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: mostafag@eng.ukm.my.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-UKM, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Lee Yook
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Heng
authors.affiliation: Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, New Valley Branch, New Valley, Egypt; Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, 200-701 Chuncheon, Kangwon-do, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sedky H A
authors.initials: SHA
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor D.E., Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mahnaz M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Abdi
authors.affiliation: Fuel Cell Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-UKM, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-UKM, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Wan Ramli Wan
authors.initials: WRW
authors.lastname: Daud
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ilbeygi
authors.affiliation: Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ahmad Fauzi
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Ismail
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D002351:Carrageenan / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D011758:Pyrroles; C067635:polypyrrole; D002351:Carrageenan
keywords: Cathode catalyst; Kappa-carrageenan; Microbial fuel cell; Nano-bio composite; Polypyrole