Flexible, layered biofuel cells
2013
Miyake, Takeo | Haneda, Keigo | Yoshino, Syuhei | Nishizawa, Matsuhiko
Similar to conventional electrolyte batteries, biofuel cells often need to be stacked in order to boost their single cell voltage (<1V) up to a practical level. Here, we report a laminated stack of biofuel cells that is composed of bioanode fabrics for fructose oxidation, hydrogel sheets containing electrolyte and fuel (fructose), and O2-diffusion biocathode fabrics. The anode and cathode fabrics were prepared by modifying fructose dehydrogenase and bilirubin oxidase, respectively, on carbon nanotubes-decorated carbon fiber fabrics. The total thickness of the single set of anode/gel/cathode sheets is just 1.1mm. The laminated triple-layer stack produces an open-circuit voltage of 2.09V, which is a 2.8-fold increase over that of a single set cell (0.74V). The present layered cell (5mm×5mm) produces a maximum power of 0.64mW at 1.21V, a level that is sufficient to drive light-emitting diodes.
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