Carbon fiber‐embedded bacterial cellulose/polyaniline nanocomposite with tailored for microbial fuel cells electrode

Abstract

AbstractMicrobial fuel cells (MFC) are of great interest for new sources of renewable energies from the waste of biomass and debris. This work aimed was to develop an anode electrode of the carbon fiber‐embedded of bacterial cellulose/polyaniline (CF/BC/PANI) nanocomposite for MFC applications. For this purpose, carbon fiber was wrapped onto bacterial cellulose (BC) fibers network during the BC synthesis. The CF/BC/PANI was obtained by polyaniline polymerization on the BC nanofibers as a scaffold. To characterize the electrode, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis analysis were carried out. The electrical conductivity was determined by measuring the resistivity. MFC using the CF/BC/PANI electrode was monitored and the maximum current density generated was 0.009 mA/cm2. The results obtained from the CF/BC/PANI demonstrate great potential for the use as an MFC electrode, as well as a microenvironment favorable to a microbial biofilm formation.