Preparation of nitrogen-doped biocarbon derived from shrimp shell and its utilization in glucose biofuel cell

Abstract

A kind of nitrogen-doped biochar derived from shrimp shell (NDBSS) was prepared and characterized. Morphology and element analysis revealed that NDBSS possessed an irregular lamellar structure with depressions and holes on the surface, and that the percentage of C and N were 87.07% and 5.45% respectively. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance measurements of NDBSS-modified carbon paste electrode (NDBSS/CPE) implied that NDBSS provided an excellent electron pathway and accelerated the electron transfer. The NDBSS/CPE was then applied to fabricate the bilirubin oxidase (BOD) biocathode and glucose oxidase (GOD) bioanode to construct a glucose biofuel cell. The CV experiments indicated that NDBSS modification enhanced the current responses to oxygen and glucose of the fabricated BOD biocathode and GOD bioanode, respectively. The Linear sweep voltammetry experiments further showed that the maximum power density of the constructed biofuel cell was 39.717 μW·cm−2, which is 9.829 times higher than that of the cell without NDBSS modification, and is comparable or even higher than the similar glucose fuel cells reported recently. The study demonstrated that NDBSS as an effective electron transfer mediator could be used in the development of both electrochemical sensing and enzymatic biofuel cells, and provides valuable information for the preparation of novel biochar materials.