Carbon nanotube modification of microbial fuel cell electrodes

Abstract

The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for energy harvesting devices is preferable due to their unique mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. On the other hand, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are promising devices to recover carbon-neutral energy from the organic matters, and have been hindered with major setbacks towards commercialization. Nanoengineered CNT-based materials show remarkable electrochemical properties, and therefore have provided routes towards highly effective modification of MFC compartments to ultimately reach the theoretical limits of biomass energy recovery, low-cost power production, and thus the commercialization of MFCs. Moreover, these CNT-based composites offer significant flexibility in the design of MFCs that enable their use for a broad spectrum of applications ranging from scaled-up power generation to medically related devices. This article reviews the recent advances in the modification of MFCs using CNTs and CNT-based composites, and the extent to which each modification route impacts MFC power and current generation.

Keywords: Carbon nanotube; Microbial fuel cell design; Nanocomposites; Oxygen reduction reaction; Thin film fabrication.