Bioelectrocatalysis utilizes biocatalysts for catalyzing redox reactions at electrode surfaces. Although bioelectrocatalysis has been discussed for five decades, it is only recently that materials chemistry has been able to provide the advanced materials necessary for efficient bioelectrocatalysis.  This talk will discuss the efficiency problems plaguing enzymatic biofuel cells and enzymatic bioelectrosynthesis, including poor electron transfer between protein active sites and traditional carbon and metal electrode materials as well as transport issues associated with intermediates in the catalytic pathway. This talk will detail advanced materials strategies utilizing polymers and nanomaterials for immobilizing and stabilizing enzymes for heterogeneous electron transfer, including carbon nanomaterials for orientating multi-copper oxidases to minimize tunneling distances, organic redox polymers for mediated electron transfer of dehydrogenase enzymes, and systems for immobilizing nitrogenase for the bioelectrosynthesis of ammonia. Secondly, this talk will describe employing enzymatic cascades of metabolic pathways for deep or complete oxidation of complex biofuels at anodes. Specifically, we will focus on immobilizing the enzymes of the Krebs cycle on carbon electrodes for bioanodes . The second effort is focused on improving fuel utilization through three dimensional complexes of these cascaded enzymes . In living cells, these metabolic enzymes exist in supercomplexes, called metabolons, that ensure efficient substrate channeling and minimize product inhibition issues. This talk will combine these two efforts towards improving electrochemical efficiency for fuel oxidation in a fuel cell or bioelectrosynthesis.<br/>

Advanced bioelectrocatalytic materials for fuel cells and electrosynthesis

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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