用于生物电化学系统的石墨烯电极新进展

Recent Developments of Graphene Electrodes in Bioelectrochemical Systems

可持续社会的发展需要成本低,并从废物或废水中提取能源或将能源转化为产品的环境友好技术.近年兴起的生物电化学系统(BESs)利用微生物催化不同电化学反应,是将废物或废水中能量转化为电能等多种产品的发展前景广阔的新技术.当有关反应的吉布斯自由能小于零,系统输出电能,此时的BESs即为微生物燃料电池(MFCs);相反,若反应的吉布斯自由能为正值,此时的BESs被称为微生物电解电池(MECs).随着研究工作的不断深入和拓展,BESs的电极性能已成为制约其应用的瓶颈.石墨烯以其独特的结构和优异的材料性能在BESs领域,特别是MFCs中得以应用.本文参考了最新的文献资料,综述了石墨烯应用于BESs的发展现状,包括应用于MFCs的石墨烯电极、掺杂石墨烯电极、担载石墨烯电极,对其在MECs中可能的应用,以及未来发展趋势予以展望.

Sustainable societies require development of cost-effective methods for harnessing energy from wastes and wastewater, and alternatively capturing this energy to make other useful chemicals with simultaneous wastes and wastewater treatment. Recently developed bioelectrochemical systems （BESs） that use microorganisms to catalyze different electrochemical reactions are promising for capturing the energy in wastes and wastewater for diverse purposes. A BES is called a microbial fuel cell （MFC） if electricity is generated and the Gibbs free energy change of the corresponding reaction is negative. Conversely, when the Gibbs free energy change of the overall reaction is positive, power needs to be supplied to drive this non-spontaneous reaction, and this BES is regarded as a microbial electrolysis cell （MEC）. The electrode character is considered to be a key factor for triggering the applicable BESs. Graphene has been recently used as the electrode and investigated in BESs because of its unique structure and excellent properties. Here, an up-to-date review is provided on the recent research and development in BES-based graphene, particularly in MFC-based grapheneo The recent pristine graphene,doped graphene, and supported graphene research in MFCs is described in detail. The potential applications of graphene in MECs and the scientific and technical challenges are also discussed.