Carbon nanofiber modified air cathodes for improving electricity production in microbial fuel cells

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) provide direct and efficient electricity generation from organic matters. The use of air-cathodes in MFCs is considered viable for practical systems, but the performance of the current design is limited due to the low efficiency of three phases (air-liquid-solid) reaction on the cathode surface. This limitation becomes more apparent when the high surface area brush anode is used in the system. Compared with traditional single chamber carbon cloth air-cathode microbial fuel cells, highly conductive carbon nanofibers and single walled carbon nanotubes were coated with Pt nanoparticles on the air-cathodes to create a 3-D web structure for increasing surface area, supporting more efficient catalytic reaction, and reducing the kinetic resistance. Preliminary data showed a stable increase in voltage output, and further analysis will include electrochemical characterization and electrode configuration modifications will be presented.