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Abstract
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Sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC) is recognized as a power generation system and has many advantages. However, it is still inappropriate for energy demands due to its operational restrictions. In this study, carbon cloth flexible electrodes modified by polyaniline-based nanocomposites were fabricated and its effect on the power output in the cell was investigated. MnO2/CNT/PANI nanocomposites are synthesized by in-situ chemical polymerization and characterized by Fourier Transform Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis were used to investigate the electrochemical behavior of the synthesized composite. The results showed that the nanocomposite-modified electrode has higher electrochemical properties than single PANI, MnO2 and CNT electrodes and their binary compounds. In addition to the electrochemical analysis, polarization tests were performed on the modified electrode in the cell that the maximum power density of the MnO2/CNT/PANI electrode 180.36 mV/m2 and the maximum voltage 670 mV were obtained and the density was about three times higher than the carbon fabric. The results indicated that using this nanocomposite, as electrodes of SMFC, was performed significantly and the development of such cells was very promising.
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