title: Graphene oxide and H2 production from bioelectrochemical graphite oxidation.
abstract: Graphene oxide (GO) is an emerging material for energy and environmental applications, but it has been primarily produced using chemical processes involving high energy consumption and hazardous chemicals. In this study, we reported a new bioelectrochemical method to produce GO from graphite under ambient conditions without chemical amendments, value-added organic compounds and high rate H2 were also produced. Compared with abiotic electrochemical electrolysis control, the microbial assisted graphite oxidation produced high rate of graphite oxide and graphene oxide (BEGO) sheets, CO2, and current at lower applied voltage. The resultant electrons are transferred to a biocathode, where H2 and organic compounds are produced by microbial reduction of protons and CO2, respectively, a process known as microbial electrosynthesis (MES). Pseudomonas is the dominant population on the anode, while abundant anaerobic solvent-producing bacteria Clostridium carboxidivorans is likely responsible for electrosynthesis on the cathode. Oxygen production through water electrolysis was not detected on the anode due to the presence of facultative and aerobic bacteria as O2 sinkers. This new method provides a sustainable route for producing graphene materials and renewable H2 at low cost, and it may stimulate a new area of research in MES.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.|The Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Cuiping
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Luda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Anhuai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jason Ren
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D003013:Clostridium / Q000378:metabolism; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000378:metabolism; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010087:Oxides; D014867:Water; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D006108:Graphite; D006859:Hydrogen; D010100:Oxygen