Chen, Xuepeng, et al. Journal of Power Sources 480 (2020): 228789.
The performance of the anode in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) greatly influences power generation. Relatively weak microbial adhesion remains a bottleneck for further improving the electrocatalytic activity of the anode. This study combines a novel biocompatible β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)/polyquaternium-11 (PQ-11) composite with a current collector carbon cloth (CC) to be used as the anode in MFCs.
The anode substrate is a piece of carbon cloth with dimensions of 2 cm × 2 cm and a thickness of 0.36±0.02 mm. Before use, the carbon cloth is soaked separately in acetone and ethanol solutions for 3 hours to remove residual impurities. Then, the carbon cloth is ultrasonically washed with deionized water for 15 minutes and dried in an oven at 60 °C. The obtained carbon cloth electrode is referred to as CC. Next, 400 mg of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) is dispersed in 100 mL of deionized water and stirred for 1 hour. The purified CC electrode is then soaked in the β-CD solution at room temperature for 3 hours. After drying in an oven at 60 °C, the CC-CD electrode is obtained. To prepare the polyquaternium-11 (PQ-11) solution, 20 mL of PQ-11 is added to 100 mL of deionized water and stirred for 1 hour. For the preparation of the β-CD/PQ-11 mixture, the PQ-11 solution is mixed with the β-CD solution. The purified CC electrode is then immersed in the mixture for 3 hours, followed by drying in an oven at 60 °C. Consequently, the CC-CD-PQ-11 electrode is obtained.
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