Enhanced bioelectricity generation of double-chamber air-cathode catalyst free microbial fuel cells with the addition of non-consumptive vanadium(v)

Abstract

Improvement of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) via bioelectricity recovery is urgently needed in micro-energy devices nowadays. Herein, we demonstrate that the power outputs of double-chamber air-cathode catalyst free MFCs can be increased by approximately 40% through the cyclical redox of vanadium (between v and iv) in the catholyte. The enhanced performance can be explained by the regenerated vanadium(v) resulting from aeration of residual vanadium(iv) on the cathode surface as well as an accelerated electron transfer rate in the aqueous solution. This study provides a simple and cost-efficient strategy to improve the performance of MFCs.