Bacteria-Affinity 3D Macroporous Graphene/MWCNTs/Fe3O4 Foams for High-Performance Microbial Fuel Cells.
Promoting the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) relies heavily on the structure design and composition tailoring of electrode materials. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) macroporous graphene foams incorporated with intercalated spacer of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and bacterial anchor of Fe3O4 nanospheres (named as G/MWCNTs/Fe3O4 foams) were first synthesized and used as anodes for Shewanella-inoculated microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Thanks to the macroporous structure of 3D graphene foams, the expanded electrode surface by MWCNTs spacing, as well as the high affinity of Fe3O4 nanospheres toward Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, the anode exhibited high bacterial loading capability. In addition to spacing graphene nanosheets for accommodating bacterial cells, MWCNTs paved a smoother way for electron transport in the electrode substrate of MFCs. Meanwhile, the embedded bioaffinity Fe3O4 nanospheres capable of preserving the bacterial metabolic activity provided guarantee for the long-term durability of the MFCs. With these merits, the constructed MFC possessed significantly higher power output and stronger stability than that with conventional graphite rod anode.
State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210093, P. R. China.
Rong-Bin
RB
Song
Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays and Institute of Advanced Materials, Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications , Nanjing 210023, P. R. China.
Cui-E
CE
Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210093, P. R. China.
Li-Ping
LP
Jiang
Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University , Riyadh 11451, P. O. Box2455, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Essam Sayed
ES
Abdel-Halim
State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210093, P. R. China.|School of Chemistry and Life Science, Nanjing University Jinling College , Nanjing 210089, P. R. China.
Jian-Rong
JR
Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210093, P. R. China.
Jun-Jie
JJ
Zhu
bioaffinity; electrochemistry; graphene foams; microbial fuel cells; multiwalled carbon nanotubes