High performance ethanol/air biofuel cells with both the visible-light driven anode and cathode

Abstract A membrane-less ethanol/air biofuel cell (BFC) with both the anode and cathode driven by visible light has been assembled. Simply upon a light source illumination, the BFC generates the maximum power density of 0.27 mW cm−2 with an open circuit voltage of 1.13 V, realizing the dual route energy conversion of light energy and chemical energy to electricity, improving the energy utilization efficiency.

[1]  Wei Lin Leong,et al.  Solution-processed small-molecule solar cells with 6.7% efficiency. , 2011, Nature materials.

[2]  Scott Calabrese Barton,et al.  Enzymatic biofuel cells for implantable and microscale devices. , 2004, Chemical reviews.

[3]  Xiaobo Chen,et al.  Increasing Solar Absorption for Photocatalysis with Black Hydrogenated Titanium Dioxide Nanocrystals , 2011, Science.

[4]  Thomas A. Moore,et al.  Enzyme-Based Photoelectrochemical Biofuel Cell , 2003 .

[5]  Chen Xu,et al.  Rectangular bunched rutile TiO2 nanorod arrays grown on carbon fiber for dye-sensitized solar cells. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[6]  James Barber,et al.  Comparing Photosynthetic and Photovoltaic Efficiencies and Recognizing the Potential for Improvement , 2011, Science.

[7]  Maria Forsyth,et al.  High Rates of Oxygen Reduction over a Vapor Phase–Polymerized PEDOT Electrode , 2008, Science.

[8]  Jacek K. Stolarczyk,et al.  Photocatalytic reduction of CO2 on TiO2 and other semiconductors. , 2013, Angewandte Chemie.

[9]  V. Barsukov,et al.  The catalytic activity of conducting polymers toward oxygen reduction , 2005 .

[10]  Itamar Willner,et al.  Integrated photosystem II-based photo-bioelectrochemical cells , 2012, Nature Communications.

[11]  M. Ghirardi,et al.  [FeFe]-hydrogenase-catalyzed H2 production in a photoelectrochemical biofuel cell. , 2008, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[12]  Vojtech Svoboda,et al.  Enzyme catalysed biofuel cells , 2008 .

[13]  Shelley D Minteer,et al.  Extended lifetime biofuel cells. , 2008, Chemical Society reviews.

[14]  Liping Li,et al.  High purity anatase TiO(2) nanocrystals: near room-temperature synthesis, grain growth kinetics, and surface hydration chemistry. , 2005, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[15]  Jae Hong Kim,et al.  Coupling photocatalysis and redox biocatalysis toward biocatalyzed artificial photosynthesis. , 2013, Chemistry.

[16]  Itamar Willner,et al.  Integrated Enzyme‐Based Biofuel Cells–A Review , 2009 .

[17]  Q. Yuan,et al.  An STM study of the pH dependent redox activity of a two-dimensional hydrogen bonding porphyrin network at an electrochemical interface. , 2010, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[18]  Chengzhou Zhu,et al.  Improving the performance of a membraneless and mediatorless glucose-air biofuel cell with a TiO2 nanotube photoanode. , 2012, Chemical communications.

[19]  Koichi Niihara,et al.  Formation of titanium oxide nanotube , 1998 .

[20]  Devens Gust,et al.  Porphyrin-sensitized nanoparticulate TiO2 as the photoanode of a hybrid photoelectrochemical biofuel cell. , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[21]  S. Dong,et al.  Visible-light-enhanced electrocatalysis and bioelectrocatalysis coupled in a miniature glucose/air biofuel cell. , 2014, ChemSusChem.

[22]  Ke-ning Sun,et al.  Photoelectrochemical oxidation of glucose for sensing and fuel cell applications. , 2013, Chemical communications.

[23]  D. Ollis,et al.  Surface Prechlorination of Anatase TiO2 for Enhanced Photocatalytic Oxidation of Toluene and Hexane , 2001 .

[24]  A. Heller.  Miniature biofuel cells , 2004 .

[25]  T. Moore,et al.  Solar energy conversion in a photoelectrochemical biofuel cell. , 2009, Dalton transactions.