Polyaniline nanofiber: an excellent anode material for microbial fuel cells

Area of Science:

• Bioelectrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• Sluggish electron transfer from bacteria to electrodes limits microbial fuel cell (MFC) performance.
• Anode modification is a key strategy to enhance MFC efficiency.
• Existing methods often involve chemical or electrochemical anode manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a new anode fabrication technique using polyaniline nanofibers (PANInf).
• To increase the anode's surface area and improve bacterial adhesion for enhanced electron transfer.
• To evaluate the performance improvement in MFCs using the novel PANInf anode.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a three-dimensional anode using polyaniline nanofibers (PANInf).
• Anchoring bacteria to the high-surface-area anode via electrostatic interactions.
• Performance evaluation through current density, power density, and impedance spectroscopy measurements.

Main Results:

• The PANInf anode achieved a current density of 0.87 mA cm⁻², a 73% increase compared to the PANI anode.
• Maximum power density reached 1091 ± 5% mW m⁻², a 40% improvement over the PANI anode.
• Impedance spectroscopy confirmed reduced charge transfer resistance and faster electron transfer kinetics.

Conclusions:

• Polyaniline nanofibers provide a high-surface-area, conductive platform for enhanced bacterial electroactivity.
• The PANInf anode significantly improves MFC performance by accelerating electron transfer.
• This fabrication technique offers a promising strategy for developing next-generation MFCs.