title: Pyrolytic carbon-coated stainless steel felt as a high-performance anode for bioelectrochemical systems.
abstract: Scale up of bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) requires highly conductive, biocompatible and stable electrodes. Here we present pyrolytic carbon-coated stainless steel felt (C-SS felt) as a high-performance and scalable anode. The electrode is created by generating a carbon layer on stainless steel felt (SS felt) via a multi-step deposition process involving α-d-glucose impregnation, caramelization, and pyrolysis. Physicochemical characterizations of the surface elucidate that a thin (20±5μm) and homogenous layer of polycrystalline graphitic carbon was obtained on SS felt surface after modification. The carbon coating significantly increases the biocompatibility, enabling robust electroactive biofilm formation. The C-SS felt electrodes reach current densities (jmax) of 3.65±0.14mA/cm(2) within 7days of operation, which is 11 times higher than plain SS felt electrodes (0.30±0.04mA/cm(2)). The excellent biocompatibility, high specific surface area, high conductivity, good mechanical strength, and low cost make C-SS felt a promising electrode 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.affiliation: Center for Space Human Robotics @PoliTO, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, C.so Trento 21, 10129 Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.affiliation: Center for Space Human Robotics @PoliTO, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, C.so Trento 21, 10129 Torino, Italy. Electronic address: tonia.tommasi@iit.it.
authors.forename: Tonia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tommasi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: korneel.rabaey@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Korneel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rabaey
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D004566:Electrodes; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: C009139:pyrolytic carbon; D013193:Stainless Steel; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Bioelectrochemical systems; Microbial electrocatalysis; Pyrolytic carbon coating; Scalable electrode; Stainless steel felt; Surface modification