Improvement of Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cells Via Anode Modification with TiC@C-TiO₂/PANI Nanocomposite

Microbial fuel cells as bioelectricity generating devices have demonstrated poor energy density. Electrode surface modification has pronounced as an efficient strategy to boost power generation. This paper proposes the synthesis of a new nanostructure TiC@C-TiO₂/PANI for anode surface modification to improve power generation in MFCs. By incorporating aniline into the TiC@C-TiO₂ nanostructure, morphological and electrochemical characteristics of modified MFCs anodes are evaluated. FESEM, HRTEM, EDX, FTIR, XRD analyzes demonstrate the presence of PANI on the surface, formation of polymeric layer, the uniformity of coating, the aromatic nature and presence of amine groups, and the crystalline structure of the TiC@C-TiO₂ substrate, respectively. The polarization tests indicate that the addition of polyaniline up to 1.5% significantly improves power density to 435 mW.m^-2 that is 55% higher than unmodified anode (281 mW.m^-2) and 22% higher than TiC@C-TiO₂ (357 mW.m^-2). Cyclic voltammetry analysis revealed an anodic peak current of 33 mA, substantially higher than 21 mA observed in the bare anode. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests demonstrated a remarkable reduction in charge transfer resistance (R_ct) to 0.04 Ω, which is 28 times lower than that of the control. These findings underscore the potential of TiC@C-TiO₂/PANI (1.5%) as a promising material for anode modification.