Premium
Graphene‐Based Flexible Micrometer‐Sized Microbial Fuel Cell
Author(s) -
Mink Justine E.,
Qaisi Ramy M.,
Hussain Muhammad M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201300085
Subject(s) - microbial fuel cell , graphene , anode , cathode , materials science , chemical vapor deposition , nanotechnology , micrometer , flexibility (engineering) , substrate (aquarium) , process engineering , chemical engineering , chemistry , electrical engineering , electrode , mechanical engineering , engineering , oceanography , geology , statistics , mathematics
Microbial fuel cells harvest electrical energy produced by bacteria during the natural decomposition of organic matter. We report a micrometer‐sized microbial fuel cell that is able to generate nanowatt‐scale power from microliters of liquids. The sustainable design is comprised of a graphene anode, an air cathode, and a polymer‐based substrate platform for flexibility. The graphene layer was grown on a nickel thin film by using chemical vapor deposition at atmospheric pressure. Our demonstration provides a low‐cost option to generate useful power for lab‐on‐chip applications and could be promising to rapidly screen and scale up microbial fuel cells for water purification without consuming excessive power (unlike other water treatment technologies).