A glucose bio-battery prototype based on a GDH/poly(methylene blue) bioanode and a graphite cathode with an iodide/tri-iodide redox couple

Bioresour Technol. 2012 Jul:116:502-6. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2012.03.083. Epub 2012 Apr 2.

Abstract

A glucose bio-battery prototype independent of oxygen is proposed based on a glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) bioanode and a graphite cathode with an iodide/tri-iodide redox couple. At the bioanode, a NADH electrocatalyst, poly(methylene blue) (PMB), which can be easily grown on the electrode (screen-printed carbon paste electrode, SPCE) by electrodeposition, is harnessed and engineered. We find that carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are capable of significantly increasing the deposition amount of PMB and thus enhancing the PMB's electrocatalysis of NADH oxidation and the glucose bio-battery's performance. The choice of the iodide/tri-iodide redox couple eliminates the dependence of oxygen for this bio-battery, thus enabling the bio-battery with a constant current-output feature similar to that of the solar cells. The present glucose bio-battery prototype can attain a maximum power density of 2.4 μW/cm(2) at 25 °C.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bioelectric Energy Sources*
  • Biofuels / analysis
  • Calibration
  • Carbon / chemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Electrochemical Techniques
  • Electrodes
  • Glucose / metabolism*
  • Glucose 1-Dehydrogenase / metabolism*
  • Graphite / metabolism*
  • Iodides / metabolism*
  • Methylene Blue / analogs & derivatives*
  • Methylene Blue / metabolism*
  • NAD / metabolism
  • Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Polymers / metabolism*

Substances

  • Biofuels
  • Iodides
  • Nanotubes, Carbon
  • Polymers
  • NAD
  • Carbon
  • Graphite
  • Glucose 1-Dehydrogenase
  • Glucose
  • Methylene Blue