High-performance biofuel cell made with hydrophilic ordered mesoporous carbon as electrode material

A highly hydrophilic ordered mesoporous carbon has been synthesized by a microwave assisted method from a mixture containing glucose and poly(vinyl alcohol) and with a silica template to have high hydrophilicity, low charge transfer resistance and large specific surface area. The new carbon material is further used as an electrode material to fabricate an anode-limited glucose/O-2 biofuel cell, which gives an output power density of 110 mu W cm(-2) with cell voltage of 0.72V, a performance much higher than the reported anodes made from SWNT, bi-polymer layer and carbon black at the same or even higher glucose concentration. This work provides a universal approach to synthesize functional carbon nanomaterials with desired architectures and properties for various important applications in energy conversion systems such as fuel cells and solar cells. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.