Development of hybrid enzymatic cascade to produce an efficient ethanol/O2 biofuel cell

Abstract

Biofuel cells are devices that use chemical reactions to produce energy using biological catalysts (enzymes or microorganisms), providing clean and renewable energy, and have great potential as alternative energy sources for low-power electronic devices. The characteristics of enzymatic biofuel cells are quite promising, however, they still present several challenges. Thus, some adjustments in the key development issues of this device are important objects of research, such as: (1) increase in the generated energy, (2) increase of electronic conductivity into the biofilms. Thus, the goal of this research project is the preparation of enzymatic bioanodes aiming the improvement of these points. For this, the oxidation of ethanol as a model fuel for hybrid bioanodes will be investigated in order to obtain the complete oxidation of this substrate, that is, use all chemical energy with utilization of maximum electrons available in the fuel. In parallel, to improve the eléctron transfer between the active center of the enzymes and the electrode will be constructed hybrid hydrogels using the linear polymer of ethyleneimine or linear polyethylenimine (LPEI) associated with the cross-linker agent ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDGE). The performance of the system can be improved by the presence or absence of modified carbon nanotubes with the subsequent addition of an organic catalyst (TEMPO-N-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine), which is capable of oxidizing a wide range of functional groups containing oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur. The progress of hybrid enzymatic reaction will be monitored by electrochemical techniques, such as electrolysis, and analytical techniques, to identify and confirm possible products formed after the oxidation of the fuel.