Microfluidic carbon cloth-based enzymatic glucose biofuel cell for sustainably powering a microelectronic circuit *

Abstract

Enhancing enzymatic microfluidic biofuel cells (EBFCs) devices has garnered significant attention due to the development of microfluidic ultra-low power energy-gathering techniques. To facilitate the ability to create microfluidic EBFCs, a carbon cloth (CC) has been considered since they are effective renewable energy sources and utilized as the ideal paper-based substitute for traditional power supplies for a variety of tiny devices due to their inherent qualities and exceptional performance. The developed microfluidic EBFC utilized glucose as a fuel, carbon cloth as the bioelectrode, Glucose oxidase for the anode, and laccase for the cathode. The maximum stable open circuit voltage of CC-EBFC was measured to be 475 mV with a peak power density of 85 µW cm−2 at 300 mV and a current density of 484 µA cm−2. The power performance of the device was improved by bovine serum albumin and a booster circuit, which was also coated and connected to the load to stabilize the performance. The novelty of the work is that using a flexible substrate of carbon cloth, with a microfluidic channel, has an added advantage in the biofuel cell. LTC3108EDE DC–DC booster was used to increase energy and attain a high charging voltage of 5 V to operate a digital watch up to 3 V. With minimal weight and flexibility; this minuscule device opens up new possibilities to sustainably power wearable and portable microelectronic devices.