Microbial community dynamics of microbial fuel cell in response to NiWO4/rGO nanocomposites as electrocatalyst and its correlation with electrochemical properties

Abstract

In this study, the correlation between anode elemental composition and microbial community dynamNics of biofilm on bimetal oxide (NiWO4) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) (NWG) nanocomposites modified anodes are reported for the first time in a single-chambered microbial fuel cell (SMFC). The results showed the biocompatibility of anode improve by using NWG electrocatalyst on the anode surface compared to plain carbon cloth (CC). In terms of microbial diversity, NiWO4/rGO has shown the highest abundance of γ-proteobacteria (42.37 %), followed by NiWO4 and rGO, while CC contained the lowest amount of γ-proteobacteria (11.23 %). The bimetal oxide (NiWO4) coating use in microbial fuel cells (MFC) caused significant enhancement of the formation of the electrogenic biofilm. In contrast, rGO improved the anodic surface and adherence of exoelectrogens on the surface. NWG/rGO based SMFC has shown 6.9 fold higher power output (1458 mW/m2) from plain CC anode (212 mW/m2), proving the vital connection between electrocatalyst and microbial community composition on anode surface. In conclusion, these results are envisioned to examine the effect of various anode surfaces on biofilm formation of electrogenic bacteria from a mixed culture.