Improved Performance of Microbial Fuel Cell Using Esterified Corncob Cellulose Nanofibers To Fabricate Air-Cathode Gas Diffusion Layer

A novel type esterified cellulose nanofiber (E-CNF) gas diffusion layer (GDL) was prepared from corncob cellulose and fabricated for air-cathode (AC) of microbial fuel cell (MFC). Remarkably, the E-CNF based AC (ACE-CNF) achieved higher current density and lower resistance than PTFE based AC (ACPTFE). Moreover, the output voltage and maximum output power density were 7.5% and 30.1% higher than those of ACPTFE. E-CNF based GDLs could be a new category of MFC cathode material.