Graphene-Fabricated Electrodes for Improving the Performance of Microbial Bioelectrochemical Systems

Graphene (GR), as an outstanding material, has shown powerful applications in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) promoting the concept of bioenergy production. Featuring unique physical and chemical characteristics, GR exhibits great possibilities for designing its novel hybrids. GR as an anode material accelerates extracellular electron transfer (EET) between microbes and electrode surface and as potent cathodic catalyst facilitates oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics. A bulk of dimension-tailored GR nanocomposites with conducting polymers, metal nanoparticles, metal oxides, ionic liquids, and doped heteroatoms have been designed as novel electrodes leading to enhanced performance of MFCs. GR-based bioactive architectures hold great promise for their effective applications in bioelectrochemical systems. The present chapter deals with different nanohybrids of GR as anodes and cathodes improving the overall efficiency of MFCs. Future perspectives addressing some key challenges pertaining to implication of GR materials in MFCs have been concluded at the end.