“共轭聚合物-产电菌”复合生物电极构建及其在微生物燃料电池中的应用

Construction of conjugated polymer-exoelectrogen hybrid bioelectrodes and applications in microbial fuel cells

摘要:

微生物燃料电池 (Microbial fuel cell，MFC) 作为一种生物电化学装置，在可再生能源生产和废水处理方面的巨大潜力已引起广泛关注。然而MFC面临输出功率低、欧姆内阻高以及启动时间长等问题，极大限制了其在实际工程中的应用。MFC中阳极是微生物附着的载体，对电子的产生及传递起着关键作用，开发优质的生物电极已发展成为改善MFC性能的有效途径。共轭聚合物具有成本低、电导率高、化学稳定性及生物相容性好等优点，利用共轭聚合物修饰生物电极结构，可以实现大比表面积、缩短电荷转移路径，从而实现高效生物电化学性能。同时，纳米级共轭聚合物包覆细菌，可以使细菌产生的电子有效地传递到电极。文中综述了最近报道的共轭聚合物在MFC中的应用，重点介绍了共轭聚合物修饰的MFC阳极，系统分析了共轭聚合物的优点及局限性，以及这些高效复合生物电极如何解决MFC应用中存在的低输出功率、高欧姆内阻及长启动时间等问题。

Abstract:

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bioelectrochemical device, that enables simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy generation. However, a few issues such as low output power, high ohmic internal resistance, and long start-up time greatly limit MFCs’ applications. MFC anode is the carrier of microbial attachment, and plays a key role in the generation and transmission of electrons. High-quality bioelectrodes have developed into an effective way to improve MFC performance. Conjugated polymers have advantages of low cost, high conductivity, chemical stability and good biocompatibility. The use of conjugated polymers to modify bioelectrodes can achieve a large specific surface area and shorten the charge transfer path, thereby achieving efficient biological electrochemical performance. In addition, bacteria can be coated with nano-scale conjugated polymer and effectively transfer the electrons generated by cells to electrodes. This article reviews the recently reported applications of conjugated polymers in microbial fuel cells, focusing on the MFC anode materials modified by conjugated polymers. This review also systematically analyzes the advantages and limitations of conjugated polymers, and how these composite hybrid bioelectrodes solve practical issues such as low energy output, high inner resistance, and long starting time.