Modification of the anodes using MoS2 nanoflowers for improving microbial fuel cells performance

Abstract

Anode, usually with limited specific surface area, poor biocompatibility and high-cost materials, is still the key obstacle for conventional dual-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC)’s wide application. To combat this challenge, graphene-like molybdenum disulfide (GL-MoS2) nanoflowers with a lateral size 200–300 nm are successfully synthesized via a simple one-step hydrothermal method and are used to modify MFC anodes. The experimental results show that GL-MoS2 nanoflowers modified carbon cloth (CC) and stainless-steel fiber felt (SSFF) anode obtains their maximum power density of 960.4 mW·m−2 and 713.6 mW·m−2 which are 1.7 and 3.6 times of their unmodified counterparts, respectively, which indicates that the modification not only can offer large specific surface area and good biocompatibility for biofilm growth, but also makes the anode surface more accessible for microbes’ colonization and substrate transfer and thus reduces polarization loss considerably. The graphene-like materials, especially those like GL-MoS2, are promising materials for excellent and cost-effective anode modification.