The Electro-Enzymatic Reduction of Dioxygen to Water Using Laccase and a Redox Mediator

该项目作为分析和表面化学计划中的研究计划补助金，旨在开发一种基于酶法将氧气还原为水的生物燃料电池。在这项为期18个月的标准拨款期间，加州大学戴维斯分校的G.Tayhas R.Palmore教授和她的学生将尝试通过使用化学介质(如硫酸铁)将氧化还原酶漆酶(催化氧四电子还原为水)与燃料电池的碳阴极偶联。酶促氧还原是在其形式电位附近完成的，因此应该会产生比使用合成铂金属催化剂更高的效率的燃料电池。帕尔莫尔教授设计了一种燃料电池原型，使她能够使用串联二极管阵列分光光度计监测酶和介体的“周转”，并通过库仑计测量通过电池的电荷通道来监测电池的整体效率。这一努力的成功将导致一系列新的低成本、高功率和环境安全的燃料来源。生物燃料电池是一种利用酶催化将化学能转化为电能的装置，其能量损失最小。典型的燃料电池需要使用腐蚀性溶剂和贵金属，生产和/或处置这些溶剂和贵金属的成本可能很高。此外，燃料电池的功率输出受到电子穿梭于各种氧化还原剂以及穿过阳极和阴极隔间的能量和速率的限制。通过使用一种天然产品，帕尔莫尔教授提出了一种优雅的设计，以产生对环境友好的更高效率的燃料电池。

This project, supported as a Research Planning Grant in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, is directed towards the development of a biofuel cell based on the enzymatic reduction of dioxygen to water. During the tenure of this 18- month standard grant, Professor G. Tayhas R. Palmore and her students at the University of California at Davis, will attempt to couple the redox enzyme laccase, which catalyzes the four electron reduction of dioxygen to water, to the carbon cathode of a fuel cell via use of chemical mediators, such as iron sulfate. The enzymatic facilitation of dioxygen reduction is accomplished near its formal potential, and should therefore result in a higher efficiency fuel cell than that possible using synthetic platinum metal catalysts. Professor Palmore has designed a prototype fuel cell which allows her to monitor the "turnover" of the enzyme and mediator using an in-line diode array spectrophotometer and the overall efficiency of the cell by measurement of the passage of charge across the cell using a coulometer. The success of this effort will culminate in a new family of low cost, high power, and environmentally safe fuel sources. A biological fuel cell is a device which converts chemical energy into electrical energy with minimal energy losses by the use of enzymatic catalysts. Typical fuel cells require the use of corrosive solvents and precious metals which can be costly to produce and/or dispose. In addition, the power output of a fuel cell is limited by the energy and rate at which electrons are shuttled through the various redox agents and across the anode and cathode compartments. With the use of a natural product, Professor Palmore has presented an elegant design for the generation of higher efficiency fuel cells that are " environmentally friendly".