Anode materials and modifications

There are clear differences between chemical and microbial fuel cell anodes. The most obvious difference is that anodes of MFCs must be able to support the growth of biological organisms. MFC anodes must also be highly conductive in order to efficiently collect electrons produced by bacteria as small increases in material resistance can have a significant impact on maximum power outputs. Other considerations when selecting an anode material include the expense of the material and the ability for it to be manufactured on a large scale. 

Metals such as platinum (Schroder et al., 2003), gold (Richter et al., 2008), titanium (Ter Heijne et al., 2008), stainless steel (Dumas et al., 2007) and copper (Kargi and Eker, 2007) have been investigated as MFC anodes due to then high conductivity, but the overall performance of these materials has been underwhelming. This could be due to them having less than the optimal 

Graphite plates/rods Tractability Cost Surface area 480/- Bond and Lovley (2003) 

Graphite brushes Surface area porosity Electrode spacing 1430/- Logan et al. (2007) 

Graphite granular Surface area porosity Conductivity /90 Rabaey et al. (2005) 

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A typical commercial lithium-ion battery system consists of a carbonaceous anode, an organic electrolyte that acts as an ionic path between electrodes and separates the two electrode materials, and a transition metal oxide (such as LiCoOa, LiMu204, and LiNiOa) cathode. Recently a variety of novel LIB components have been proposed, like tin-based alloys and disordered carbons as anode materials, and modifications to the conventional transition metal-oxide cathode made by coating it with metal-oxide nanoparticles, most of which are discussed in detail in this book. 

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