Premium
Introducing Pseudocapacitive Bioelectrodes into a Biofuel Cell/Biosupercapacitor Hybrid Device for Optimized Open Circuit Voltage
Author(s) -
Alsaoub Sabine,
Conzuelo Felipe,
Gounel Sébastien,
Mano Nicolas,
Schuhmann Wolfgang,
Ruff Adrian
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chemelectrochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.182
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 2196-0216
DOI - 10.1002/celc.201900256
Subject(s) - redox , open circuit voltage , materials science , polymer , nanotechnology , electrode , voltage , energy storage , biocatalysis , chemical engineering , supercapacitor , chemistry , electrochemistry , electrical engineering , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , metallurgy , composite material , engineering
We report the fabrication of a polymer/enzyme‐based biosupercapacitor (BSC)/biofuel cell (BFC) hybrid device with an optimized cell voltage that can be switched on demand from energy conversion to energy storage mode. The redox polymer matrices used for the immobilization of the biocatalyst at the bioanode and biocathode act simultaneously as electron relays between the integrated redox enzymes and the electrode surface (BFC) and as pseudocapacitive charge storing elements (BSC). Moreover, owing to the self‐charging effect based on the continuously proceeding enzymatic reaction, a Nernstian shift in the pseudocapacitive elements, that is, in the redox polymers, at the individual bioelectrodes leads to a maximized open circuit voltage of the device in both operating modes. Comparison with a conventional fuel cell design, that is, using redox mediators with redox potentials that are close to the potentials of the used redox proteins, indicates that the novel hybrid device shows a similar voltage output. Moreover, our results demonstrate that the conventional design criteria commonly used for the development of redox polymers for the use in biofuel cells have to be extended by considering the effect of a Nernstian shift towards the potentials of the used biocatalysts in those pseudocapacitive elements.