Polyaniline/Carbon Nanotubes Composite Modified Anode via Graft Polymerization and Self-Assembling for Microbial Fuel Cells

Wenguo Wu; Hao Niu; Dayun Yang; Shibin Wang; Nina Jiang; Jiefu Wang; Jia Lin; Chaoyi Hu

doi:10.3390/polym10070759

Polyaniline/Carbon Nanotubes Composite Modified Anode via Graft Polymerization and Self-Assembling for Microbial Fuel Cells

Polymers (Basel). 2018 Jul 10;10(7):759. doi: 10.3390/polym10070759.

Authors

Wenguo Wu^{1

2

3}, Hao Niu⁴, Dayun Yang^{5

6}, Shibin Wang^{7

8

9}, Nina Jiang¹⁰, Jiefu Wang¹¹, Jia Lin¹², Chaoyi Hu¹³

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China. wuwenguo@hqu.edu.cn.
² Institute of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China. wuwenguo@hqu.edu.cn.
³ Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Biochemical Technology, Xiamen 361021, China. wuwenguo@hqu.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China. 1400215014@hqu.edu.cn.
⁵ Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Biochemical Technology, Xiamen 361021, China. dyyang@fjmu.edu.cn.
⁶ Fujian Key Laboratory for Translational Research in Cancer and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Institute for Translational Medicine, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350108, China. dyyang@fjmu.edu.cn.
⁷ College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China. sbwang@hqu.edu.cn.
⁸ Institute of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China. sbwang@hqu.edu.cn.
⁹ Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Biochemical Technology, Xiamen 361021, China. sbwang@hqu.edu.cn.
¹⁰ College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China. ninajiang@hqu.edu.cn.
¹¹ College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China. jiefuwangxiamen@163.com.
¹² College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China. linjia3456789@163.com.
¹³ College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China. 18559628110@163.com.

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are promising devices for sustainable energy production, wastewater treatment and biosensors. Anode materials directly interact with electricigens and accept electrons between cells, playing an important role in determining the performance of MFCs. In this study, a novel carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite film modified Indium-tin oxide (ITO) anode was fabricated through graft polymerization of PANI after the modification of γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) on ITO substrate, which was followed by layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembling of CNTs and PANI alternatively on its surface. (CNTs/PANI)_n/APTES/ITO electrode with low charge transfer resistance showed better electrochemical behavior compared to the bare ITO electrode. Twelve layers of CNTs/PANI decorated ITO electrode with an optimal nanoporous network exhibited superior biocatalytic properties with a maximal current density of 6.98 µA/cm², which is 26-fold higher than that of conventional ITO electrode in Shewanella loihica PV-4 bioelectrochemical system. MFCs with (CNTs/PANI)₁₂/APTES/ITO as the anode harvested a maximum output power density of 34.51 mW/m², which is 7.5-fold higher than that of the unmodified ITO electrode. These results demonstrate that (CNTs/PANI)_12/APTES/ITO electrode has superior electrochemical and electrocatalytic properties compared to the bare ITO electrode, while the cellular toxicity of CNTs has an effect on the performance of MFC with (CNTs/PANI)_n/APTES/ITO electrode.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes; graft polymerization; microbial fuel cell; polyaniline; self-assembling.