One-step electrosynthesis of polypyrrole/graphene oxide composites for microbial fuel cell application

Application of Graphene‐Based Materials to Improve Electrode Performance in Microbial Fuel Cells

“…Firstly, the procedure for preparing graphene-based electrode/catalyst is still complex. A typical approach of preparing graphene electrodes is through three steps: chemical synthesis of GO from graphite according to Hummers' method; reduction of GO to graphene by a chemical reducing agent; and coating the graphene on the surface of a support by a binder such as PTFE or Nafion [29]. Some electrochemical methods can combine the second and third steps through directly reducing GO on the support [29].…”

“…A typical approach of preparing graphene electrodes is through three steps: chemical synthesis of GO from graphite according to Hummers' method; reduction of GO to graphene by a chemical reducing agent; and coating the graphene on the surface of a support by a binder such as PTFE or Nafion [29]. Some electrochemical methods can combine the second and third steps through directly reducing GO on the support [29]. Those complex procedures may increase the cost associated with preparation/manufacturing, especially for larger scale MFCs which require a large amount of materials.…”

“…The GONR network was coated on carbon paper (CP) by the electrophoretic deposition method, and the GONR/CP anode electrode could successfully improve the electricity generation of an MFC compared to the raw CP anode electrode [17]. It was also reported that the MFC with polypyrrole (PPy)/GO-modified graphite felt showed better performance than graphene-only modified graphite felt, suggesting that some conductive polymers such as PPy can also improve the conductivity of GO [29].…”

Graphene Polymer Nanocomposites for Fuel Cells

“…Compared with PPy-GF, ERGO-GF and GF anodes, the PPy/GO-GF anode generated the maximum cell potential (0.33 V), highest short-circuit currents (7.53 A m −2 ), lowest ohmic resistance (1.30 Ω) and charge transfer resistance (2.6 Ω). SEM analysis revealed that interfacial surface area and improved adhesion of bacteria on the anode material might attribute to the enhanced performance of PPy/GO-GF anode [90].…”

Graphene-based electrode materials for microbial fuel cells

“…If PPy is interfaced with GO or rGO, electrical conductivity and reinforcement stability of PPy could be improved, which may be beneficial for MFC performances. By the combined efforts of high electrical conductivity and number of catalytic active sites, the resulting PPy/GO composites are proved to have more advantages compared to the use of PPy alone that has been demonstrated to be efficient anode materials in MFCs, and GO alone that may have the problem of poor adhesion and low electronic conductivity [80,81]. Additionally, He et al [82] successfully prepared a novel 3D chitosan/vacuum-stripped graphene (VSG) scaffold with hierarchically porous structure, which provided an open space in anode interior for bacteria colonization and enhanced the affinitive contact between multilayered bacteria and biocompatible VSG, thus contributing the remarkable 78 times maximum powder density improvement.…”