Three-Dimensional Carbon Monolith Coated by Nano-TiO2 for Anode Enhancement in Microbial Fuel Cells

Fan Zhao; Yini Chen; Shiyang Zhang; Meng Li; Xinhua Tang

doi:10.3390/ijerph20043437

Three-Dimensional Carbon Monolith Coated by Nano-TiO₂ for Anode Enhancement in Microbial Fuel Cells

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 15;20(4):3437. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043437.

Authors

Fan Zhao¹, Yini Chen¹, Shiyang Zhang¹, Meng Li¹, Xinhua Tang¹

Affiliation

¹ School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430062, China.

Abstract

A three-dimensional (3D) anode is essential for high-performance microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, 3D porous carbon monoliths from a wax gourd (WGCM) were obtained by freeze-drying and carbonization. Nano-TiO₂ was further coated onto the surface of WGCM to obtain a nano-TiO₂/WGCM anode. The WGCM anode enhanced the maximum power density of MFCs by 167.9% compared with the carbon felt anode, while nano-TiO₂/WGCM anode additionally increased the value by 45.8% to achieve 1396.2 mW/m². WGCM enhancement was due to the 3D porous structure, the good conductivity and the surface hydrophilicity, which enhanced electroactive biofilm formation and anodic electron transfer. In addition, nano-TiO₂ modification enhanced the enrichment of Acinetobacter, an electricigen, by 31.0% on the anode to further improve the power production. The results demonstrated that the nano-TiO₂/WGCM was an effective anode for power enhancement in MFCs.

Keywords: Acinetobacter; anode; carbon monolith; microbial fuel cells; nano-TiO2.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Carbon / chemistry
Electric Conductivity
Electrodes

Substances

Carbon
titanium dioxide

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21806126) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (WUT.2019IVB031).