Increased Electron Transport Inside Microbial Fuel Cell through Interfacing Graphene with Geobacter Sulfurreducens

Abstract

With the increased interest in developing cost-effective and readily available energy sources, the research in the microbial fuel cell (MFC) field has gained increased attention. Here, we report the use of graphene’s high electron mobility coupled with Geobacter sulfurreducens’ biocatalyst nature to increase the current response of a MFC. It is well-accepted that one of the limiting factors of current generation of a Geobacter based MFC is the electron transport process in the anodic chamber. We attempt to address this limitation by utilizing the enhanced electrical conductivity of graphene. To study the interface of graphene- Geobacter, Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed. The Raman characterization studies of the interface revealed an n-doping effect on graphene, with an approximate shift of 5 cm-1. These results demonstrate that the graphene- Geobacter interface provides an approach to overcoming the challenges of conventional MFCs.