Una cascada bioelectrocatalítica de oxidación de glucosa para aplicaciones de electrocatálisis energéticamente...

Hydrogen energy and metal-air batteries, particularly zinc-air batteries (ZABs), have garnered significant interest as clean energy vectors and energy storage devices, respectively. However, their efficiency is constrained by the high overpotential and sluggish kinetics associated with the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, we propose a green and efficient bioelectrocatalytic cascade system designed to overcome the energy efficiency limitations of conventional OER. The system employs nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) as both supporting material and electrocatalyst for immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) and for the in situ catalytic decomposition of H₂O₂ produced during the GOx-catalyzed oxidation of glucose. This approach not only significantly reduces the overpotentials required for water splitting and ZAB charging but also facilitates the co-production of high-value gluconic acid. Electrochemical evaluations demonstrate that the bioelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution system achieves a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 at just 1.60 V. Furthermore, ZABs incorporating this system exhibit high power density and exceptional cycling stability. These findings underscore the potential of designing efficient and stable bifunctional bioelectrochemical catalysts as an energy-saving and high-efficiency strategy for hydrogen production and biomass valorization.