Effect of membrane on power density of ethanol/O2 biofuel cell

A biofuel cell is a device for converting chemical energy to electrical energy by a simple way. A high-impact anode is prepared in this research. Here, carboxylated multiwall carbon nanotube (COOH-MWCNT), polydiallyldimethyl ammonium chloride (PDDA) and alcohol dehydrogenase were cast on modified glassy carbon with polymethylene green to construct the bioanode for biofuel cell. The polymethylene green is used as an electron mediator for NAD+ that is coenzyme for alcohol dehydrogenase. This new bioanode construction has a good storage and operational stability. The modified electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry. The biofuel cell was made with bioanode and carbon-platinum cathode, with and without membrane, and characterized by linear sweep voltammetry to obtain polarization curve for biofuel cell assembly. The biofuel cells had power density 350 µW.Cm-2 and 1713μW.Cm-2, with membrane and membraneless, respectively. The open circuit voltage of both biofuel cells was 0.28V for more than 1 hour. The anode easy construction and simple cell design make it useful for implant medical instruments.