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的研究规划资助，旨在开发基于酶促还原双氧为水的生物燃料电池。在这18个月的标准补助金的任期内，G。泰哈斯河Palmore和她在加州大学戴维斯分校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（催化分子氧还原为水的四电子还原）偶联到燃料电池的碳阴极。双氧还原的酶促促进在其形式电位附近完成，因此应导致比使用合成铂金属催化剂可能的效率更高的燃料电池。Palmore教授设计了一个原型燃料电池，使她能够使用在线二极管阵列分光光度计监测酶和介体的“周转”，并通过使用库仑计测量电池中电荷的通过来监测电池的整体效率。这一努力的成功将最终导致一个新的家庭的低成本，高功率和环境安全的燃料来源。 生物燃料电池是通过使用酶催化剂以最小的能量损失将化学能转化为电能的装置。典型的燃料电池需要使用腐蚀性溶剂和贵金属，其生产和/或处理成本高。此外，燃料电池的功率输出受到电子穿梭通过各种氧化还原剂并穿过阳极和阴极隔室的能量和速率的限制。通过使用天然产品，Palmore教授提出了一种优雅的设计，用于生产“环保”的高效燃料电池。

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".