Research on flexible thin-disk glucose biofuel cells based on single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes

Abstract

Glucose biofuel cell (GBFC) is a power supply device which has attracted considerable attention because of its green environmental protection and high economic benefits. Fuels like glucose and oxygen are ubiquitous in physiological fluids, allowing the direct harvest of energy from human bodies. Compared with conventional batteries such as Li-Po, GBFC is a more promising alternative to power medical devices without the need to be replaced or refueled. However, the energy conversion efficiency of the existing GBFCs still needs to be further improved for practical applications. In this paper, the performance of the GBFC was studied based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), which have relatively high conductivity and large specific surface area that could improve the activity of enzymes immobilized on the electrode surface and thus realize the direct electron transfer (DET). After optimization of the catalysts' amount, the GBFC based on SWCNTs performed well with two Pt layers sprayed on one side of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) and 1.5 mL glucose oxidase (GOx) dropped on the other side, which attained the highest open-circuit potential (OCP) of 0.4 V. After being encapsulated with a flexible porous enclosure made by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), the biological compatibility of the completed GBFC has been successfully improved, which provides great potential for powering wearable or implantable devices.