Effect of NH2-MWCNTs/CF anodes on the power generation performance of SMFCs

Abstract

The carbon nanotube-modified anodes have been widely recognized as one of the most effective methods to improve the conductivity of the anode and enhance the performance of microbial fuel cells. And there are few studies on the effect of amino-functionalized carbon nanotube-modified anodes on the performance of sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) systematically. In this paper, we prepared amino-functionalized carbon nanotube-modified electrodes and constructed SMFCs using them to study the effect of amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes on the power generation performance of SMFCs. The results showed that the highest output voltage of NH2-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (NH2-MWCNT)-modified carbon felt (CF) SMFCs (529.15 mV) was significantly higher than that of CF (474.5 mV). And the power density of SMFCs with 10% NH2-MWCNTs/CF reached a maximum of 58.3 mW/m3. There are because NH2-MWCNTs surface has a larger specific surface area and a porous structure, enhancing electron conduction pathway helps to improve the conductivity of the anode. Therefore, the modification of CF surfaces with NH2-MWCNTs can be used to improve the interfacial properties and positively enhance the power generation performance of SMFCs. This study provides a novel and effective approach to enhance the performance of SMFCs and contributes to the international research on carbon nanotube-modified anodes for energy and environmental applications.