Nafion as a nanoproton conductor in microbial fuel cells

Authors: MOSTAFA RAHIMNEJAD, TAHERE JAFARY, FAHIME HAGHPARAST, GHASEM NAJAFPOUR, ALI ASGHAR GHOREYSHI

Abstract: Nafion, a sulfonated tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, consists of a hydrophobic fluorocarbon backbone (--CF2--CF2--) to which hydrophilic sulfonate groups (SO_3^-) are attached. The presence of negatively charged sulfonate groups in a nanomembrane brings about a high level of proton conductivity. In this study, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used for production of bioelectricity in a 2-chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC). We selected 9- cm^2 Nafion 117 and Nafion 112 as nanomembranes to transport the produced proton from the anode chamber to the cathode compartment at ambient temperature and pressure. Initial glucose concentration was 30 g/L. The maximum obtained voltage, current, and power density for Nafion 117 were 668 mV, 60.28 mA/m^2, and 9.95 mW/m^2, respectively. For Nafion 112, those results were 670 mV, 150.6 mA/m^2, and 31.32 mW/m^2, respectively.

Keywords: Nanomembrane, MFC, Nafion, bioelectricity, Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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