Catalytic Cooperation between a Copper Oxide Electrocatalyst and a Microbial Community for Microbial Electrosynthesis
Konstantina‐Roxani Chatzipanagiotou, Virangni Soekhoe, Ludovic Jourdin, Cees J.N. Buisman, J. Harry Bitter, David P. B. T. B. Strik
Abstract
Abstract Electrocatalytic metals and microorganisms can be combined for CO 2 conversion in microbial electrosynthesis (MES). However, a systematic investigation on the nature of interactions between metals and MES is still lacking. To investigate this nature, we integrated a copper electrocatalyst, converting CO 2 to formate, with microorganisms, converting CO 2 to acetate. A co‐catalytic (i. e. metabolic) relationship was evident, as up to 140 mg L −1 of formate was produced solely by copper oxide, while formate was also evidently produced by copper and consumed by microorganisms producing acetate. Due to non‐metabolic interactions, current density decreased by over 4 times, though acetate yield increased by 3.3 times. Despite the antimicrobial role of copper, biofilm formation was possible on a pure copper surface. Overall, we show for the first time that a CO 2 ‐reducing copper electrocatalyst can be combined with MES under biological conditions, resulting in metabolic and non‐metabolic interactions.