A quick, easy and green hydrothermal method for the development of a bioanode based on a ternary nanocomposite for enzymatic biofuel cell applications

Abstract

The performance of an enzymatic biofuel cell (EBFC) is very much related to the electrode architecture. Thus, designing a new electrode material by employing nanotechnology broadens the horizon in this field. In this study, a new bioanode is constructed using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in polyindole (PIN) matrix for the EBFC system to achieve easy shuttling of electrons between enzyme (glucose oxidase, GOx) and the surface of electrode. The prepared ZnO/RGO/PIN nanocomposite (NC) was assessed by analytical techniques including fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the electrochemical activity of the NC and ZnO/RGO/PIN/FRT/GOx bioanode was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The bioanode attained a maximum current density of ca. 8.1 mA cm−2 at 50 mM glucose concentration and 100 mV s−1 scan rate. Moreover, the nanocomposite has a unique combination synthesized by the green route which is one of the eco-friendly and novel methodologies for the preparation along with less production cost from the previous chemical route. Besides, this combination offers enhanced electrical conductivity, improved electron transportation, and provides a large number of active sites due high aspect ratio along with biocompatibility. These advantages make this nanocomposite valuable in designing bioanode for this application. To the best of our knowledge, this bioanode is being proposed for the first time.