An Enzymatic Ethanol/O2 Biofuel Cell Powered by Commercial Vodka Fuel

Authors

Yi-ming YAN, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100190, China;School of Chemical Engineering and Environment, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China;
Lan-qun MAO, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100190, China;Follow

Corresponding Author

Lan-qun MAO(lqmao@iccas.ac.cn)

Abstract

This study demonstrates the performance of a new type alcohol/O₂ biofuel cell assembled by using alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and bilirubin oxidase (BOD) as the biocatalysts of the bioanode and the biocathode for the bioelectrocatalytic oxidation of alcohol and reduction of oxygen, respectively. To construct the bioanode and the biocathode, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were used. In the bioanode, SWCNTs were used as the supporting materials for both methylene green (MG) which was used as the electrocatalyst for the oxidation of NADH and ADH. The as-constructed MG/ADH/SWCNTs-based bioanode exhibits a good activity toward the bioelectrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol. In the biocathode, the use of SWCNTs essentially facilities the direct electron transfer of BOD, and thereby enables the bioelectrocatalytic reduction of oxygen into water at a relatively high potential. An ethanol/O2 biofuel cell configuration was then assembled by utilizing the MG/ADH/SWCNTs as the bioanode and the BOD/SWCNTs as the biocathode. The biofuel cell gives a maximum power output of 11 μW·cm^-2 in the presence of 40 mmol·L^-1 ethanol as biofuel under ambient air in phosphate buffer (pH 7.0). Finally, we demonstrate that the ethanol/O₂ biofuel cell could be powered by commercially available Vodak, giving a maximum power output of 3.7 μW·cm^-2.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

biofuel cells, bioelectrochemistry, single-walled carbon nanotubes, alcohol dehydrogenase, bilirubin oxidase

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.13208/j.electrochem.140445

Publication Date

2015-02-28

Online Available Date

2014-12-09

Revised Date

2014-12-04

Received Date

2014-11-13

Recommended Citation

Yi-ming YAN, Lan-qun MAO. An Enzymatic Ethanol/O2 Biofuel Cell Powered by Commercial Vodka Fuel[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2015 , 21(1): 8-12.
DOI: 10.13208/j.electrochem.140445
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol21/iss1/2