Preparation, characterization, and optimization of a porous polyaniline-copper anode microbial fuel cell
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Preparation, characterization, and optimization of a porous polyaniline-copper anode microbial fuel cell S. Mwale 1 & M. O. Munyati 1
&
J. Nyirenda 1
Received: 30 May 2020 / Revised: 17 September 2020 / Accepted: 5 October 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In this paper, we report on the development and optimization of a copper anode material coated with a thin polyaniline layer for use in a microbial fuel cell. The polyaniline materials were optimized in terms of their conductivity. The synthesis was carried out using hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and formic acid as dopants. The materials were characterized using UV-VIS and FTIR spectroscopy for structural analysis, while morphological evaluation was done using atomic force microscopy. The electrical conductivity of the different polyaniline materials was done using a four-point probe coupled to a source meter. Materials doped with formic acid were found to have the highest conductivity at 2.0 S cm−1 with an optical bandgap of 2.47 eV. The optimum dipping time was established to be 5 min, which gave the level of inhibition towards copper degradation of 96.24%. The performance of the polyaniline-copper electrode was evaluated in an H-type microbial fuel cell. The highest power density recorded was 1.5 ± 0.28 mW m−3 (normalized to the volume of the anode) with an internal resistance of 15.86 kΩ. Keywords Microbial fuel cell . Polyaniline . Polyaniline-copper . Anode material . Power density
Introduction Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a potential innovation for producing electrical energy directly from organic matter in wastewater and simultaneously processing wastewater pollutants [1–3]. The technology has the potential to provide alternative clean energy and has hence become a very active area of research. However, scaling up has remained a significant challenge because of several factors, including the need for the reactors to be compact and the use of inexpensive electrode materials [4–6]. The power generated is relatively low (typically 100 mW m−2) and voltages (typical values less than 0.6 V) are not directly usable [7]. The anode materials, the electroactive biofilm used at the anode, and device configuration play a significant role in the microbial fuel cell. The Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-020-04839-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * M. O. Munyati [email protected] 1
Department of Chemistry, University of Zambia, P. O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia
electrode material is one of the fundamental components of microbial fuel cells [8]. It plays a critical role in the interaction between bacteria and the anode. Also, it is essential for the transfer of electrons and for protons to react with an oxidizing agent such as cathode oxygen. The key attributes necessary for the anode material to contribute to improving microbial fuel performance are (1) high conductivity; (2) biocompatibility w
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