Polyethyleneimine Modified Carbon Cloth Anode for Self-Pumping Enzymatic Glucose Biofuel Cell

Li Z Huang,Hsiharng Yang,Jhang H Wang,Ngoc Bich Duong

doi:10.1155/2018/4638254

Abstract

This paper proposes a simplified process that immobilizes enzymes onto carbon cloth electrodes to increase biofuel cell functionality. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) is used to modify carbon cloth electrodes to reduce the processing time and increase self-pumping enzymatic glucose biofuel cell (self-pumping EGBC) electricity. PEI is usually used in biochemical engineering gene transfection as GOx support to enhance enzyme immobilization. PEI is a good candidate for increasing enzymatic biofuel cell (EBC) redox current. PEI and GOx have been successfully immobilized onto carbon cloth electrodes through FT-IR analysis. A UV/Vis spectrophotometer was used to investigate the best PEI support concentration. PEI was proven to improve redox current by cyclic voltammetry analysis. The results show that the GOx/PEI electrode has excellent hydrophilicity on the GOx/PEI electrode surface using contact angle measurement. The optical and electrochemical analysis result shows that GOx/PEI was successfully immobilized onto carbon cloth electrodes. Experimental analysis showed that self-pumping EGBC achieved a power output of 0.609 mW/cm2 (126.9 mW/cm3). PEI contributes to the shortening of the process from a few hours to 5–10 minutes and enhances GOx fuel cell performance.

Highlights

Science and technology continuously change and rapidly improve
Biofuel cells have traditionally been classified into microbial fuel cells and enzymatic biofuel cells based on the type of catalyst
The results show that the GOx/PEI electrode has excellent hydrophilicity on the GOx/PEI electrode surface by contact angle measurement

Summary

Introduction

Science and technology continuously change and rapidly improve. Raw materials are the fundamental source of human civilization; people face energy depletion and environmental pollution problems. Fuel cell catalysts generally require platinum and other precious metals to function, greatly increasing the manufacturing cost. Another type of fuel cell is a biofuel cell derived from biofuel chemical reactivity. Enzymatic biofuel cells use glucose as fuel, generating electrical power by oxidation-reduction. Enzymatic biofuel cells have the problem of reduced stability due to the limited lifetime of extracellular enzymes. They can provide higher power densities ( still lower than conventional fuel cells) because of the lack of mass transfer barriers. In a bid to improve power density and lifetime, establishing enzyme immobilization is important

Methods

Results

Conclusion