Cellulose Aerogel Derived Hierarchical Porous Carbon for Enhancing Flavin-Based Interfacial Electron Transfer in Microbial Fuel Cells

Abstract

The flavin-based indirect electron transfer process between electroactive bacteria and solid electrode is crucial for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Here, a cellulose-NaOH-urea mixture aerogel derived hierarchical porous carbon (CPC) is developed to promote the flavin based interfacial electron transfer. The porous structure of the CPC can be tailored via adjusting the ratio of urea in the cellulose aerogel precursor to obtain CPCs with different type of dominant pores. According to the electrocatalytic performance of different CPC electrodes, the CPCs with higher meso- and macropore area exhibit greatly improved flavin redox reaction. While, the CPC-9 with appropriate porous structure achieves highest power density in Shewanella putrefaciens CN32 MFC due to larger active surface for flavin mediated interfacial electron transfer and higher biofilm loading. Considering that the CPC is just obtained from the pyrolysis of the cellulose-NaOH-urea aerogel, this work also provides a facile approach for porous carbon preparation.

Mechanically Strengthened Aerogels through Multiscale, Multicompositional, and Multidimensional Approaches: A Review

“…The figure provides information about the differences in the pore structures for the same kind of aerogels synthesized using different methods. [354] b-g) SEM images for: b) cellulose, [355] c) silica, [356] d) carbon, [357] e) polyurea, [358] f) polyimide, [359] and g) MOF [336] aerogels. h-j) Photographs for 3D printed aerogels of: h) graphene, [360] i) silica, [361] and j) carbon [362] aerogels.…”

“…a) Schematic of hierarchically porous materials. [ 354 ] b–g) SEM images for: b) cellulose, [ 355 ] c) silica, [ 356 ] d) carbon, [ 357 ] e) polyurea, [ 358 ] f) polyimide, [ 359 ] and g) MOF [ 336 ] aerogels. h–j) Photographs for 3D printed aerogels of: h) graphene, [ 360 ] i) silica, [ 361 ] and j) carbon [ 362 ] aerogels.…”

“…Hierarchically porous aerogels. a) Schematic of hierarchically porous materials [354]. b-g) SEM images for: b) cellulose,[355] c) silica,[356] d) carbon,[357] e) polyurea,[358] f) polyimide,[359] and g) MOF[336] aerogels.…”

“…q-s) Photographs for: q) polyimide,[366] r) Kevlar,[367] and s) SF-GO[368] aerogel fibers. t-y) SEM images for: t) cellulose,[369] u) silica,[339] v) SF-GO,[368] w) graphene,[370] x) polyimide,[366] and y) Kevlar[367] aerogels.a) Adapted under the terms of CC-BY Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) [354]. Copyright 2020, The Authors, published by MDPI.…”

Self-Nitrogen-Doped Nanoporous Carbons Derived from Poly(1,5-diaminonaphthalene) for the Removal of Toxic Dye Pollutants from Wastewater: Non-Linear Isotherm and Kinetic Analysis

“…Porous carbon-based materials (PCMs) with their pore size range from a micro-to meso-structure have been proven to remove dyes and others pollutants from water due to their high specific surface area, high pore volume, and high stability in acidic and alkaline media [21]. PCMs can be produced from both biopolymers [22] and synthetic polymers [23]. PCMs can be prepared via three routes, including carbonization followed by activation, template, and in situ activation.…”