Advanced electrode materials for microbial extracellular electron transfer

Abstract

Bioelectrochemical systems using electroactive microorganisms have applications including energy generation, microbial electrosynthesis, electrofermentation, and biosensing. Enhancing extracellular electron transfer (EET) between microorganisms and electrodes in these systems is a rapidly evolving field. This Review presents recent and emerging advances in the development of novel electrode materials, including incorporation of conductive polymers (CPs), common nanomaterials, MXenes, and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) to increase the conductivity and surface area available for microbial electrochemical reactions. We also discuss electrodes of the future, focusing on computational rational design and approaches that consider the microorganisms’ perspective in the design process. These include patterning to achieve biologically relevant surface architecture and mimicking the extracellular matrix to form artificial biofilms.