An innovative miniature microbial fuel cell fabricated using photolithography

Biosens Bioelectron. 2011 Feb 15;26(6):2841-6. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2010.11.016. Epub 2010 Nov 19.

Abstract

Recently microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have attracted increasing interests in both environmental and energy fields. Among the various MFC configurations, miniature microbial fuel cell (mini-MFC) has a great potential for the application in medical, communication and other areas because of its miniature volume and high output power density. In this work, a 25-μL single-chamber mini-MFC was fabricated using the photolithography technique. The plate-shaped gold anodic electrode in the mini-MFC showed a higher electrochemical activity than the stripe-shaped one. A biofilm of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 was formed on the surface of gold electrode in this micro-liter-scale MFCs. As a result, a maximum power density of 29 mW/m(2) and a maximum current density of 2148 mA/m(2) were achieved by this single-chamber mini-MFC.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bioelectric Energy Sources / microbiology*
  • Biofilms
  • Equipment Design
  • Gold
  • Microelectrodes
  • Microtechnology
  • Photography
  • Shewanella / metabolism

Substances

  • Gold