Fabrication and Characterization of Enzyme Electrode for Lactate Fuel Cell

Abstract

The study aimed to develop a high-power enzymatic electrode for a wearable fuel cell that generates electricity utilizing lactate present in a sweat as fuel. Anode was fabricated by immobilizing lactate oxidase (LOx) on flexible carbon paper. As the lactate concentration in the electrolyte solution increased, the amount of current generated by catalysis of lactate oxidase increased. The immobilized LOx generated 1.5-times greater oxidation current density in the presence of gold nanoparticles than carbon paper only. Bilirubin oxidase (BOD)-immobilized cathode generated a larger amount of reduction current in the electrolyte saturated with oxygen than purged with nitrogen. A fuel cell composed of two electrodes was fabricated and cell voltage was measured under different discharge current. At the discharge current density of 66.7 mu A/cm(2), the cell voltage was 0.5 +/- 0.0 V leading to maximum cell power density of 33.8 +/- 2.5 mu W/cm(2).