Abstract
A multi-walled, carbon nanotube (MWNT)-modified graphite felt (GF) cathode was fabricated to improve the performance of sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC). Three types of MWNT-modified GF cathodes were prepared by different electrophoretic deposition (EPD) times. Maximum power density of SMFC with MWNT-GF*** cathode at 60 min EPD was 215 ± 9.9 mW m−2. This was 1.6 times that of SMFC with a bare GF cathode. Cyclic voltammetry and the amount of biomass showed that biomass density and electrochemical activity increased as the electrophoretic deposition time extended. Therefore the electrode possesses the highest catalytic behavior toward O2 reduction reaction. This simple process of carbon nanotube modification of a cathode by EPD can serve as an effective technique to improve the performance of SMFC.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973) (Grant No. 2011CBA00806, 2012CB721100); the National Science Fund of China (Grant No. 51209116, 21390204); Fund from the State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering (ZK201312); Program for New Century Excellent Talents at the Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. NCET-11-0987); the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (RFDP) (Grant No. 20113221120007) and the Priority Academic Program from Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.
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Dawei Zhu and De-Bin Wang contributed equally to this work.
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Zhu, D., Wang, DB., Song, Ts. et al. Effect of carbon nanotube modified cathode by electrophoretic deposition method on the performance of sediment microbial fuel cells. Biotechnol Lett 37, 101–107 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-014-1671-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-014-1671-6