Small-size biofuel cell on paper

In this work, we demonstrated a novel paper-based mediator-less and compartment-less biofuel cell (BFC) with small size (1.5 cm x 1.5 cm). Ionic liquid functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs-IL) nanocomposite was used as support for both stably confining the anodic biocatalyst (i.e., NAD(+)-dependent glucose dehydrogenase, GDH) for glucose electrooxidation and for facilitating direct electrochemistry of the cathodic biocatalyst (i.e., bilirubin oxidase, BOD) for O-2 electroreduction. Such BFC provided a simple approach to fabricate low-cost and portable power devices on small-size paper, which can harvest energy from a wide range of commercial beverages containing glucose (e.g.. Nescafe instant coffee, Maidong vitamin water, Watermelon fresh juice, and Minute Maid grape juice). These made the low-cost paper-based biodevice potential for broad energy applications. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.