Abstract
Biofuel cells have been widely used to generate bioelectricity. Early biofuel cells employ a semi-permeable membrane to separate the anodic and cathodic compartments. The impact of different membrane materials and compositions has also been explored. Some membrane materials are employed strictly as membrane separators, while some have gained significant attention in the immobilization of enzymes or microorganisms within or behind the membrane at the electrode surface. The membrane material affects the transfer rate of the chemical species (e.g., fuel, oxygen molecules, and products) involved in the chemical reaction, which in turn has an impact on the performance of the biofuel cell. For enzymatic biofuel cells, Nafion, modified Nafion, and chitosan membranes have been used widely and continue to hold great promise in the long-term stability of enzymes and microorganisms encapsulated within them. This article provides a review of the most widely used membrane materials in the development of enzymatic and microbial biofuel cells.
Highlights
A conventional fuel cell is an electrochemical power source that continuously converts the stored chemical energy in a fuel to electrical energy as long as there is a continuous supply of fuel
CMI-7000 (polymer structure: Gel polystyrene cross linked with divinylbenzene, CMI-7000 was used as cation exchange membrane (CEM) and AMI-7001 was used as CEM and AMI-7001 was used with divinylbenzene, functional group: quaternary ammonium) was used as anion exchange membrane (AEM)
Enzymatic and microbial biofuel cells have gained significant attention as a power source in biological environments, where semi-permeable membranes have been applied for the separation of anodic and cathodic compartments as well as the immobilization of enzyme in enzymatic biofuel cells
Summary
A conventional fuel cell is an electrochemical power source that continuously converts the stored chemical energy in a fuel to electrical energy as long as there is a continuous supply of fuel These fuel cells consist of the fuel, oxidant, and the anodic and cathodic substrate materials. Biofuel cells differ slightly from conventional fuel cells, in that they employ naturally occurring proteins or microorganisms as the biocatalysts for the anodic and cathodic substrate materials to catalyze the electrochemical reactions between the fuel, oxidant, and the biocatalysts. Biocatalysts such as enzymes have high electrocatalytic activity at moderate conditions (pH and temperature).
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