Abstract
The appearance and evolution of biofuel cells can be categorized into three groups: microbial biofuel cells (MBFCs), enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs), and enzyme-like nanomaterial (nanozyme)-based biofuel cells (NBFCs). MBFCs can produce electricity from waste; however, they have significantly low power output as well as difficulty in controlling electron transfer and microbial growth. EBFCs are more productive in generating electricity with the assistance of natural enzymes, but their vulnerability under diverse environmental conditions has critically hindered practical applications. In contrast, because of the intrinsic advantages of nanozymes, such as high stability and robustness even in harsh conditions, low synthesis cost through facile scale-up, and tunable catalytic activity, NBFCs have attracted attention, particularly for developing wearable and implantable devices to generate electricity from glucose in the physiological fluids of plants, animals, and humans. In this review, recent studies on NBFCs, including the synthetic strategies and catalytic activities of metal and metal oxide-based nanozymes, the mechanism of electricity generation from glucose, and representative studies are reviewed and discussed. Current challenges and prospects for the utilization of nanozymes in glucose biofuel cells are also discussed.
Highlights
Biofuel cells can be categorized into three groups: microbial biofuel cells (MBFCs), enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs), and enzyme-like nanomaterial-based biofuel cells (NBFCs) (Figure 1) [4,6,7]
To develop glucose-based NBFCs, nanozymes that mimic glucose oxidase (GOx) and catalase are required to construct an anode for catalyzing glucose oxidation without accumulating H2 O2, as well as laccase-mimicking nanozymes to construct a cathode for accepting electrons, which are produced and transferred to the cathode during glucose oxidation
As nanozymes mimicking GOx, catalase, and laccase are utilized to develop glucose biofuel cells; the catalytic features of these nanozymes are discussed with recent examples
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Biofuel cells can be categorized into three groups: microbial biofuel cells (MBFCs), enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs), and enzyme-like nanomaterial (nanozyme)-based (nanozymatic) biofuel cells (NBFCs) (Figure 1) [4,6,7]. Unlike MBFCs, EBFCs catalyze the oxidation of biofuels with the assistance of natural enzymes to produce electricity. Like MBFCs, the EBFC comprises an anode and cathode, but the membrane may not be involved because of the high substrate specificity of natural enzymes on each electrode (Figure 1B) [20]. To develop glucose-based NBFCs, nanozymes that mimic GOx and catalase are required to construct an anode for catalyzing glucose oxidation without accumulating H2 O2 , as well as laccase-mimicking nanozymes to construct a cathode for accepting electrons, which are produced and transferred to the cathode during glucose oxidation. We describe the representative synthetic strategies and catalytic activities that are essentially utilized to develop glucose biofuel cells
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