Preparation of needle-like Fe3O4/Fe2O3 nanorods on stainless steel plates to form inexpensive, high-performance bioanodes

The application of metal electrodes in microbial fuel cell (MFC) anodes is limited by their poor biocompatibility. In this study, needle-like Fe3O4/Fe2O3 nanorods were produced on 304 stainless steel plates by simple cyclic voltammetry (CV) treatment after anodization to enhance the current output. A maximum current of 7.11 +/- 0.24 A/m(2) was achieved after CV, twice as high as that without CV. The higher current output of the anode resulted from active redox substances involved in electron transfer. Analysis of the contact angle and laser scanning confocal microscopy showed that hydrophilicity promoted the enrichment of bacteria on the stainless steel. Therefore, this is a simple method for preparing high-performance electrodes.