Nanoenergy by Flavio Leandro de Souza & Edson Roberto Leite

Author:Flavio Leandro de Souza & Edson Roberto Leite
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg

2 BFCs for Power Energy Production

The development of biomolecules-based electrochemical devices has arisen due to wide interest in their potential application in many areas, such as amperometric biosensors [37, 38] and, in particular, implantable biodevices for energy generation or BFCs [22]. The basic principle behind the energy generation of BFCs is similar to that of conventional fuel cells. However, BFCs use a recognition element in conjunction with biomolecules such as enzymes or microorganisms to produce electrical current, whereas traditional fuel cells use metallic electrodes [5–7]. BFCs consist of two electrodes that can be separated or not by a semi-permeable membrane [39–47], as can be seen in Fig. 1. Firstly, species are oxidized on the anode surface, and the electrons produced are driven throughout an external circuit and finally reach the cathode electrode [48]. Generally, water is produced when electrons are combined with an oxidizing agent, such as oxygen, present in the environment [41].

Fig. 1Scheme of a general representation of two BFC configurations a with a semi-permeable membrane, and b in the absence of a membrane. The fuel is oxidized on the anode by a biological component, and the electrons released are transferred throughout an external circuit, which is associated with an oxidant element (usually O2), to generate H2O

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