(Invited) Electrochemical Impedance Analysis of Printable Porous Carbon Electrode for Realization of High-Power Biofuel Cell and Wearable Self-Powered Biosensor

Abstract

A paper-based biofuel cell (PBFC) have been attracted as a potential application as energy harvesting power sources in the Internet of Things (IoT) field [1-3]. To use the PBFC for practical application, the cell power density of PBFC, generally limited by the biocathode performance, should be improved. The distance between the redox site of the enzyme and the electrode material surface is one of the key factors for biocathode development. By entrapping enzymes in a mesopore of a porous carbon material, the redox center can approach the electrode material surface with high probability. In addition, the stability of the enzyme may be improved. A branch structure (double pore structure) porous carbon material is a suitable porous material for biosensors and biofuel cell electrodes, because the branch structure porous carbon material such as MgO-templated mesoporous carbon (MgOC) has large specific surface areas and mesopores whose size can be easily controlled. In the present study, we formed the branch structure porous carbon electrodes for biofuel cathode by screen-printing technique, and the electrode performance was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to improve the electrode structure for biofuel cell cathode. In the present paper, we discuss the experimental result in detail and introduce our wearable PBFC performance using the printed porous carbon electrodes. [1] I. Shitanda et al., Chem. Commun. 49 (2013) 11110. [2] Claudia W. Narváez Villarrubia et al., Electrochem. Commun, 45 (2014) 44. [3] Carolin Lau et al., Int. J. Hydrogen. Energy, 42 (2015) 14661.