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Visible‐Light‐Enhanced Electrocatalysis and Bioelectrocatalysis Coupled in a Miniature Glucose/Air Biofuel Cell
Author(s) -
Zhang Lingling,
Xu Zhikun,
Lou Baohua,
Han Lei,
Zhang Xiaowei,
Dong Shaojun
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201402325
Subject(s) - electrocatalyst , biofuel , fuel cells , nanotechnology , chemistry , environmental science , materials science , chemical engineering , electrochemistry , electrode , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , engineering
A glucose/air biofuel cell (BFC) that can convert both chemical and light energy into electricity is described. Polyterthiophene (pTTh), a photoresponsive conducting polymer, serves as cathode and catalyzes the reduction of oxygen. Taking advantage of the good environmental stability and exceptional optical properties of pTTh, the assembled BFC exhibits excellent stability and a fast photoresponse with an open‐circuit voltage ( V oc ) of 0.50 V and a maximum power output density ( P max ) of 23.65 μW cm −2 upon illumination by visible light of 10 mW cm −2 , which is an enhancement of ca. 22 times as compared to P max in the dark. Additionally, we propose a possible mechanism for this enhancement. Fabricating a BFC in this manner provides an energy conversion model that offers high efficiency at low cost, paving an avenue for practical solar energy conversion on a large scale.