A flexible nanocomposite membrane based on traditional cotton fabric to enhance performance of microbial fuel cell

A flexible and stretchable three-dimensional nanocomposite membrane based on traditional cotton fabric is a promising alternative for proton exchange membrane because it has the capability of transferring protons, is inexpensive, and also have higher current density compared to Nafion membranes in microbial fuel cells. The obtained results showed that the highest power and current of PVAc-g-PVDF-coated cotton fabric were 400±10 mW/m 2 and 92 mA/m 2 , respectively. However, maximum generated power and current for Nafion-117 were 300±10 mW/m 2 and 60 mA/m 2 , respectively. The highest proton conductivity of PVAc-g-PVDF-coated cotton fabric was (1.5±0.2)×10 -2 S/cm at 25 °C and lowest glucose permeability was (12±1)×10 -6 cm 2 /s after Mg 2+ ions adsorption. Furthermore, the highest COD removal (85±3 %) and CE (11.2 %) were obtained from PVAc-g-PVDF-coated cotton fabric. The coated cotton fabric can provide a novel route for low-cost production of high-performance flexible proton exchange materials from the natural fabrics.