Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/33109
Title: Intrinsic electrical properties of cable bacteria reveal an Arrhenius temperature dependence
Authors: BONNE, Robin 
HOU, Ji-Ling 
HUSTINGS, Jeroen 
WOUTERS, Koen 
Meert, Mathijs
Hidalgo-Martinez, Silvia
CORNELISSEN, Rob 
MORINI, Filippo 
THIJS, Sofie 
VANGRONSVELD, Jaco 
VALCKE, Roland 
CLEUREN, Bart 
Meysman, Filip J. R.
MANCA, Jean 
Issue Date: 2020
Publisher: NATURE RESEARCH
Source: Scientific Reports, 10 (1) (Art N° 19798)
Abstract: Filamentous cable bacteria exhibit long-range electron transport over centimetre-scale distances, which takes place in a parallel fibre structure with high electrical conductivity. Still, the underlying electron transport mechanism remains undisclosed. Here we determine the intrinsic electrical properties of the conductive fibres in cable bacteria from a material science perspective. Impedance spectroscopy provides an equivalent electrical circuit model, which demonstrates that dry cable bacteria filaments function as resistive biological wires. Temperature-dependent electrical characterization reveals that the conductivity can be described with an Arrhenius-type relation over a broad temperature range (- 195 degrees C to+50 degrees C), demonstrating that charge transport is thermally activated with a low activation energy of 40-50 meV. Furthermore, when cable bacterium filaments are utilized as the channel in a field-effect transistor, they show n-type transport suggesting that electrons are the charge carriers. Electron mobility values are similar to 0.1 cm(2)/Vs at room temperature and display a similar Arrhenius temperature dependence as conductivity. Overall, our results demonstrate that the intrinsic electrical properties of the conductive fibres in cable bacteria are comparable to synthetic organic semiconductor materials, and so they offer promising perspectives for both fundamental studies of biological electron transport as well as applications in microbial electrochemical technologies and bioelectronics.
Notes: Manca, JV (corresponding author), Hasselt Univ, X Lab, Agoralaan D, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium.
jean.manca@uhasselt.be
Other: Manca, JV (corresponding author), Hasselt Univ, X Lab, Agoralaan D, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium. jean.manca@uhasselt.be
Document URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/33109
ISSN: 2045-2322
e-ISSN: 2045-2322
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76671-5
ISI #: WOS:000594647800006
Rights: Open Access Tis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. Te images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Category: A1
Type: Journal Contribution
Validations: ecoom 2021
Appears in Collections:Research publications

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