CHED 723 |
| Due to the rapid growth and technological developments in handheld consumer electronics there has been a great increase in the need for small, efficient, and environmentally friendly power sources. Enzymatic biofuel cells have been explored as a possible viable source of power for such devices through the mimicking power production in biological systems; however, most of these systems have been explored using bulky test cells which are not applicable to small electronic devices. Utilizing soft lithography techniques we explore the production of a glass/polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) device to produce power from several electrodes connected in series. In order to incorporate the catalytic power of oxidizing enzymes, enzyme is immobilized on the surface of the electrodes. Hydrodynamic flow is then utilized to deliver specific fuel substrates. The enzyme is immobilized in tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) modified NafionŽ; a technique which has been optimized in our lab in previous work. The microelectrode design provides significant advantage over traditional test cells in that it improves mass transport, and can be easily connected in series in an extremely small area allowing for high power output and simple cell-stacking. This project utilizes the ability to stack cells while using the biological power of enzymes, obtaining significant power output from a very small, easy to fabricate, and inexpensive device. This device would operate and regenerate through the simple addition of fuels such as ethanol, glucose or glycerol, making it not only efficient and environmentally friendly, but also inexpensive. |
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Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Polymer Chemistry
11:00 AM-1:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster
Division of Chemical Education |