title: Three-dimensional graphene/Pt nanoparticle composites as freestanding anode for enhancing performance of microbial fuel cells.
abstract: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are able to directly convert about 50 to 90% of energy from oxidation of organic matters in waste to electricity and have great potential application in broad fields such as wastewater treatment. Unfortunately, the power density of the MFCs at present is significantly lower than the theoretical value because of technical limitations including low bacteria loading capacity and difficult electron transfer between the bacteria and the electrode. We reported a three-dimensional (3D) graphene aerogel (GA) decorated with platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) as an efficient freestanding anode for MFCs. The 3D GA/Pt-based anode has a continuous 3D macroporous structure that is favorable for microorganism immobilization and efficient electrolyte transport. Moreover, GA scaffold is homogenously decorated with Pt NPs to further enhance extracellular charge transfer between the bacteria and the anode. The MFCs constructed with 3D GA/Pt-based anode generate a remarkable maximum power density of 1460 mW/m(2), 5.3 times higher than that based on carbon cloth (273 mW/m(2)). It deserves to be stressed that 1460 mW/m(2) obtained from the GA/Pt anode shows the superior performance among all the reported MFCs inoculated with Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Moreover, as a demonstration of the real application, the MFC equipped with the freestanding GA/Pt anode has been successfully applied in driving timer for the first time, which opens the avenue toward the real application of the MFCs.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment (Harbin Institute of Technology), Harbin 150080, China. ; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China. ; CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Shenlong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment (Harbin Institute of Technology), Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Yuchen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Huajie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment (Harbin Institute of Technology), Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Zhouzhou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment (Harbin Institute of Technology), Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Enxiao
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment (Harbin Institute of Technology), Harbin 150080, China.
authors.forename: Shaoqin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: Extracellular electron transfer; Graphene; Microbial fuel cell; Porous structure; Three-dimensional electrode