Asian Journal of Scientific Research1992-14542077-2076Asian Network for Scientific Information10.3923/ajsr.2014.256.261VeerapandianBhuvaneshwari DevanathanAkshaiya OgiralaVivek ChandramouliSubhashree NarasimhanSiddarth NarayananAnantha ParthasarathyMeera 2201472Microbial fuel cells provide an economically and practically viable option
for green generation of electric power from organic pollutants present in waste
water with the help of micro-organisms. Several attempts are being made to commercialize
the system for stable power generation. For portable applications, the size
of the fuel cell and its volumetric power density are major determinants. In
this context, microbial fuel cells with a solid electrolyte sandwiched between
a cathode and anode would be an attractive configuration. In this work, we report
the synthesis and characterization of highly cross-linked multi-walled carbon
nanotube/polyacrylamide composite hydrogels as solid electrolyte for application
in such devices. The composite hydrogels were synthesized by in situ
free radical polymerization of acrylamide in presence of surfactant-dispersed
multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Ionic conductivity was introduced to the hydrogels
by partial hydrolysis in alkaline medium and the conductivity was compared using
Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. The composite hydrogels with different
loadings of carbon nanotubes were characterized systematically by Differential
Scanning Calorimetry, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Swelling studies.]]>Kim, B.H., I.S. Chang and G.M. Gadd,200776485494Narayanan, K.A., S. Selvaraj and M. Parthasarathy,20125255262Mokhtarian, N., M. Ghasemi, W.R.W. Daud, M. Ismail, G. Najafpour and J. Alam,20131016Rahimnejad, M., T. Jafary, F. Haghparast, G.D. Najafpour and A.A. Ghoreyshi,201034289292Chae, K.J., M. Choi, F.F. Ajayi, W. Park, I.S. Chang and I.S. Kim,200822169176Ghasemi, M., W.R.W. Daud, A.F. Ismail, Y. Jafari, M. Ismail, A. Mayahi and J. Othman,201332516You, S.J., J.Y. Wang, N.Q. Ren, X.H. Wang and J.N. Zhang,20103334338Choudhury, N.A., A.K. Shukla, S. Sampath and S. Pitchumani,2006153A614A620Haider, S., S.Y. Park, K. Saeed and B.L. Farmer,2007124517528Gunavadhi, M., L.A.A. Maria, V.N. Chamundeswari and M. Parthasarathy,20123312711275Kannan, R., M. Parthasarathy, S.U. Maraveedu, S. Kurungot and V K. Pillai,20092582998305