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

该项目获得了分析和表面化学项目的研究计划资助，旨在开发一种基于酶促双氧还原为水的生物燃料电池。在这项为期18个月的标准资助期间，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，将氧化还原酶漆酶与燃料电池的碳阴极结合起来。漆酶能催化双氧的四电子还原为水。酶促双氧还原在接近其正式电位的情况下完成，因此应该比使用合成铂金属催化剂产生更高效率的燃料电池。Palmore教授设计了一个燃料电池的原型，它允许她使用一个内联二极管阵列分光光度计来监测酶和介质的“周转”，并通过使用电量计测量电荷通过电池来测量电池的整体效率。这一努力的成功将导致一系列低成本、高功率、环保的新燃料的诞生。生物燃料电池是一种利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重金属，生产和/或处理成本很高。此外，燃料电池的功率输出受限于电子通过各种氧化还原剂和穿过阳极和阴极隔室的能量和速率。Palmore教授使用一种天然产品，提出了一种优雅的设计，用于生产效率更高的“环保”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".