An enzymatic biofuel cell (EBFC) is a device that uses an enzyme as a catalyst to convert chemical energy into electrical energy by a redox reaction to generate electricity. EBFC has the advantage that it can operate under mild conditions (normal temperature, normal pressure, and near neutral pH) and can use various energy sources such as sugar and alcohol. Hoshi et al. reported EBFC of glucose fuel using graphene-coated carbon fiber cloth (GCFC) with a large specific surface area. However, it was considered that GOD was affected by dissolved oxygen in the fuel and generated hydrogen peroxide, which hindered the reaction. In order to further increase the output, it was necessary to improve the performance of the anode with a novel enzyme that is less affected by oxygen and generates electricity from glucose. Therefore, we focused on FAD glucose dehydrogenase (FAD-GDH). It can generate electricity with glucose fuel by using it as a catalyst like GOD. Characteristic is that it is resistant to impurities such as maltose and galactose and is not easily affected by oxygen. It was thought that this would alleviate the concern about hydrogen peroxide and improve the output.

In this study, two modification methods that employ graphene-coated carbon fiber woven fabric (GCFC) as an electrode and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) as a mediator were used to evaluate cathode performance. In addition, a prototype of an atmosphere-exposed ascorbic-acid enzyme biofuel cell (AAEBFC) consisting of an improved GCFC cathode and ABTS was evaluated. No modification was made in the anode region, and only the cathode region was coated with the enzyme of bilirubin oxidase (BOD). As a result of implementing an ABTS-modified cathode in the AAEBFC, an output of 721μW/cm2 was obtained at 0.189V. When the gel thickness was changed, an output of 1200μW/cm2 was obtained at 0.17V. To the best of our knowledge, this is currently the highest reported output for an AAEBFC fueled by ascorbic acid.

Biofuel cells (BFCs) using graphene-coated carbon fiber cloth electrodes and glucose gel fuel were fabricated and evaluated. A new structure using fuel gel, in which the anode was embedded in gel and the cathode was exposed to the atmosphere, was adopted. Air-exposed biofuel cells using gel have already been reported, however, adhesion between the anode and the gel was improved by the proposed structure. In addition, the enlargement of the gel area prevented its drying. These innovations improved the power density and lifetime of the BFCs. The anode was modified with a glucose oxidase (GOD) enzyme and a mediator (ferrocene) and the cathode was modified with a bilirubin oxidase enzyme. The power density of the proposed structure was 176.4 µW/cm2 at 0.19 V, which was approximately 3.8 times higher than that of BFCs using liquid fuel (45.9 µW/cm2).