Improving the Lifetime, Simplicity, and Power of an Ethanol Biofuel Cell by Employing Ammonium Treated Nafion Membranes to Immobilize PQQ-Dependent Alcohol Dehydrogenase

摘要

Biofuel cells are an alternative source for portable power that employs biocatalysts in order to convert chemical energy into electrical energy. The cell can be regenerated with the addition of more fuel specific to the enzymatic system chosen. An ethanol/ oxygen biofuel cell has been developed employing pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) immobilized at the bioanode. PQQ-dependent ADH catalyzes the oxidation of a wide range of primary alcohols and due to the unique electrochemistry of the coenzyme PQQ, it is well suited for use as an electron mediator in an ethanol biofuel cell (1). Our unique bioanodes are fabricated using techniques that immobilize the enzyme in a quaternary ammonium bromide salt modified Nafion~R polymer, which buffers the pH environment of the enzyme and provides a three-dimensional construct for the enzyme.