Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)‐Modified Graphite Felt and Carbon Cloth Anodes for Use in Microbial Fuel Cells

Abstract

Anode modification is an effective method for enhancing extracellular electron transportation and improving the power density of Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC). In this study, we decorated the surface of Carbon Cloth (CC) and Graphite Felt (GF) with a new conductive polymer, poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxyhiophene) (PEDOT), using galvanostatic electropolymerization and fabricated a CC/PEDOT and GF/PEDOT anode for MFC application. Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) analyses illustrated that the PEDOT coating improved a redox‐active surface area, high electron transfer capabilities, and lower charge‐transfer resistance of anode. These modified electrodes give enhanced MFC performances with maximum energy generation and coulombic efficiency compared with plain electrode. The morphological characteristics like higher surface area and open structure of felt and carbon material promoted microbial formation and electrochemical active area. Compared with the unmodified anode, the PEDOT anodic modification improves the current density by 6.9 times i. e., 3.813 Am−2. Thus GF/PEDOT anode excelled among the studied anodes with the synergetic effect of PEDOT coating and structural configuration, making it a potential optimum anode for MFC application.

Conductive Polymers and Their Nanocomposites: Application Features in Biosensors and Biofuel Cells

“…Recently, many studies have been devoted to the modification of anodes with semiconductor polymers, such as polyaniline (PANI), polydopamine (PDA), polypyrrole (PPy), and PEDOT [ 206 ]. The work of researchers has been aimed at both the use of conductive polymers for the immobilization of pure cultures on bioanodes (mainly bacteria of the genera Geobacter [ 207 ] and Shewanella [ 208 ]) and the fixation of multicomponent microbial communities on the anode [ 209 ].…”

Advances in Anode Materials for Microbial Fuel Cells

“…[ 128 ] Compared to PANI and PPy, PEDOT has better electrical conductivity [ 129 ] and electrochemical stability [ 130 ] under neutral solutions. Similarly, it can also be used to coat the surface of SS, [ 131 ] GF, and CC [ 132 ] anodes by different methods. In addition, Jiang et al directly synthesized a porous anode with PEDOT nanofibers.…”

Ultrasonic Spray Coating to Optimize Performance of Bio-Electrochemical Systems

“…To this end, indeed, the presence of PEDOT:PSS enabled the improvement of anode performance through the coupling of the continuous electrical conductivity of this intrinsically conductive polymer with the porosity of standard carbon-based materials, optimizing their surfaces to host electroactive biofilms. To reach this goal, several techniques for the processing of PEDOT:PSS were proposed, such as electrochemical methods [11,14,24,25] and dip coating [19]. Such techniques may pose limitations when scaled to large-area electrodes, requiring the use of high-current appliances and large volumes of solution precursors.…”