In enzymatic biofuel cells for powering biomedical electronics, electrical communication between enzyme and electrode is the most critical factor in determining their performance. Here, we introduce a metallic cotton fiber-based biofuel cell that significantly increases the electrical communication between enzyme and electrode as well as between enzymes without any mediators. Gold nanoparticles and small organic molecule linkers were layer-by-layer assembled onto porous cotton fibers for the formation of metallic cotton fiber with extremely high conductivity (&gt;2.1 × 104 S cm−1), and then glucose oxidases were sequentially LbL-assembled with the same organic molecules onto the metallic cotton fibers minimizing the distance between enzymes and gold nanoparticles on the electrode. The resultant BFCs exhibited the remarkable power density of 3.7 mW cm−2, outperforming all biofuel cells reported to date. Our strategy to promote the electron transfer through electrodes can provide an important tool to improve the power output performance of various medical or electrochemical devices.

Metallic, cotton, fiber-based biofuel cells

2019 Spring National Meeting

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