Withdrawal Notice: Graphene based Anode Nanomaterials for Microbial Fuel Cells: A Review

Abstract

: Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a novel technology that uses biological catalysts to directly convert chemical energy in sewage organic matter into electrical energy. The performance of MFC is greatly influenced by the properties of electrode anode in MFC. Therefore, how to obtain specific electrode anode with excellent physical and chemical properties has become the focus of MFC research. Graphene has been widely concerned and gained extensive research and increasing development in the field of MFC due to its excellent electrical conductivity, catalytic properties, and outstanding specific surface area. In particular, the performance of MFCs has been improved by using graphene-based anodes instead of conventional unmodified anodes, which benefits from high biocompatibility, fast electron transfer efficiency, and preferrable bacteria colonization. In this review, various graphene-based nanomaterials are introduced as anodes in MFC, such as graphene/carbon nanocomposites, graphene/metal composite, graphene/metal oxide composite, graphene/conductive polymer composite, and three-dimensional graphene aerogels. This review also provides recent research progress in graphene-based nanomaterials, including synthesis methods, the structure, and the characteristics of these nanomaterials. Furthermore, the influences of graphene-based anodes on the electricity generation performance of MFCs are particularly reviewed to provide an efficient indication in selecting suitable graphene-based anode material for developing MFCs to realize sewage treatment.