Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Teliyarganj, Prayagraj, 211004, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Faculty of Sciences, University of A Coruña, E-15008, A Coruña, Spain.
Chemosphere. 2022 Mar;290:133184. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133184. Epub 2021 Dec 7.
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an emerging technology for converting organic waste into electricity, thus providing potential solution to energy crises along with eco-friendly wastewater treatment. The electrode properties and biocatalysts are the major factors affecting electricity production in MFC. The electrons generated during microbial metabolism are captured by the anode and transferred towards the cathode via an external circuit, causing the flow of electricity. This flow of electrons is greatly influenced by the electrode properties and thus, much effort has been made towards electrode modification to improve the MFC performance. Different semiconductors, nanostructured metal oxides and their composite materials have been used to modify the anode as they possess high specific surface area, good biocompatibility, chemical stability and conductive properties. The cathode materials have also been modified using metals like platinum and nano-composites for increasing the redox potential, electrical conductivity and surface area. Therefore, this paper reviews the recent developments in the modification of electrodes towards improving the power generation capacity of MFCs.
微生物燃料电池 (MFC) 是一种将有机废物转化为电能的新兴技术，为能源危机和环保型废水处理提供了潜在的解决方案。电极性质和生物催化剂是影响 MFC 发电的主要因素。微生物代谢过程中产生的电子被阳极捕获，并通过外部电路转移到阴极，从而产生电流。电子的流动受电极性质的极大影响，因此，人们致力于电极改性以提高 MFC 的性能。不同的半导体、纳米结构金属氧化物及其复合材料已被用于修饰阳极，因为它们具有高比表面积、良好的生物相容性、化学稳定性和导电性。阴极材料也使用金属如铂和纳米复合材料进行修饰，以提高氧化还原电位、电导率和表面积。因此，本文综述了近年来电极改性在提高 MFC 发电能力方面的最新进展。
