Nanocomposite material laccase/dispersed carbon carrier for oxygen electrode

The effect of carbon dispersion degree on the effectiveness of oxygen electroreduction by laccase at its immobilization at superdispersed colloid graphite (SCG) or acetylene carbon black (ACB) is studied. A method of synthesizing the highly active composite material based on SCG is suggested providing the optimum orientation of enzyme molecules for the direct bioelectrocatalysis due to the fact that the particles of the carrier (SCG) and laccase molecules are commensurable. The specific current of oxygen reduction per enzyme molecule for the composite of SCG + laccase is five times higher than that at the composite based on ACB. The effect of the specific activity increase is observed only at ultra-thin layers of the composite material at the electrode; for the creation of the gas-diffusion oxygen electrode the active layer structure should be optimized to remove the percolation effects.     

Active Layer of an Oxygen Electrode Based on Nanocomposite Disperse Carbon Carrier + Laccase Material

Effect of the carbon material dispersivity on the efficiency of oxygen electroreduction by laccase immobilized on finely divided colloidal graphite (FCG) and carbon black AD-100 is studied. A highly active composite material based on FCG with laccase immobilized on it is proposed and investigated. This creates optimum conditions for direct bioelectrocatalysis by enzyme molecules. The specific oxygen reduction current calculated per enzyme molecule for nanocomposite FCG + laccase is five times that on an AD-100-based composite. Increasing the active-layer thickness, which is of importance for creating a gas-diffusion oxygen electrode, reduces specific activity of composite and only the activity of ultrathin layers is thickness-independent. This is explained by percolation restrictions on the electron transport, which reduce the number of catalytically active centers in the electrode's active layer that take part in reaction. The FCG particles are presumed to form agglomerates in the active layer. The size of the agglomerates is determined on the basis of computer-aided modeling of percolation processes and experimental data on the dependence of the specific capacitance of the active mass on the active-layer thickness. Hypotheses on the origin of percolation phenomena are put forth. One such hypothesis is that agglomerates of carbon particles are fractal clusters.     

Electroreduction of Oxygen in the Presence of Tyrosinase Adsorbed on Carbon Materials

Electroreduction of oxygen on carbon materials with immobilized tyrosinase is studied, and the effect the carbon support nature and the immobilization technique have on the reaction rate is determined. The tyrosinase activity in a direct bioelectrocatalysis is shown to be lower than that of another copper-containing enzyme, laccase. A maximum activity is obtained when covering the carbon surface with a composite based on tyrosine, tyrosinase, and Nafion.     

Optimizing Weights of Platinum in the Active Layer of the Cathode of a Hydrogen–Oxygen Fuel Cell with a Solid Polymer Electrolyte

The active layer of the cathode of a hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell with a solid polymer electrolyte is computer simulated. The active mass of the electrode consists of substrate grains (agglomerates of carbon particles with Pt particles embedded into them) and grains of a solid polymer electrolyte (Nafion). The substrate grains presumably contain hydrophobic pores, which facilitate the oxygen penetration into the active mass. A calculation of characteristics of such an electrode focuses on the optimization of platinum weights. The principal parameters of the system are concentration and size of grains of substrate and Nafion, Pt concentration in substrate grains, average diameter of hydrophobic pores in substrate grains, and the electrode polarization. The optimum, at a given electrode polarization, electrochemical activity of the active layer, its thickness, and the platinum weight are calculated. A link between these quantities and principal parameters of the active layer is revealed.     

高分子聚合物-多壁碳纳米管复合物固定漆酶及其在玻碳电极上的直接电子迁移

采用不同结构的高分子聚合物与纯化的多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)共混的方法,制备得到聚合物非共价功能化多壁碳管复合物,测定了这些载体对漆酶(lac)的担载量、固定漆酶的比活力及稳定性.以固定漆酶的复合物修饰玻碳(GC)电极后,采用循环伏安法研究这些电极在无氧磷酸盐缓冲液(PBS)中的直接电化学行为及催化氧还原活力,粗略地测定了固定漆酶与电极间电子转移的速率常数.实验结果表明,当聚合物中含亲漆酶基团或能与漆酶活性中心发生相互作用的官能团时利于直接电子转移,而且复合物固定漆酶保持了游离漆酶的天然构象.这些电极中,lac/NIPAM-co-BPCP-M WCNTs/GC(NIPAM-co-BPCP:N-烯丙基-1-苯甲酰基-3-苯基-4,5-2H-4-甲酰胺基吡唑-co-N-异丙基丙烯酰胺)在无氧PBS中发生直接电子转移的式电位(605mV)更接近漆酶活性中心的式电位(580mV),具有较快的异相电子转移速率(0.726s-1),较高的漆酶担载量(103.5mg/g)和固定漆酶比活力(1.68U/mg),较高的催化氧还原能力(氧还原起始电位820mV,在650mV时的催化峰电流为85.5μA)以及良好的重复使用性和长期使用性.     

Bioelectrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction by Laccase Immobilized on Various Carbon Carriers

Laccase is an enzyme that is used for fabricating cathodes of biofuel cells. Many studies have been aimed at searching the ways for enhancing specific electrochemical characteristics of cathode with the laccase- based catalyst. The electroreduction of oxygen on the electrode with immobilized laccase proceeds under the conditions of direct electron transfer between the electrode and active enzyme center. In this work, the effect of oxygen partial pressure on the electrocatalytic activity of laccase is studied. It is shown that, at the concentrations of oxygen dissolved in the electrolyte higher than 0.28 mM, the process is controlled by the kinetics of the formation of laccase–oxygen complex, whereas at lower concentrations and a polarization higher than 0.3 V, the process is limited by the oxygen diffusion. A wide range of carbon materials are studied as the carriers for laccase immobilization: carbon black and nanotubes with various BET specific surface areas. The conditions, which provide the highest surface coverage of carbon material with enzyme in the course of spontaneous adsorptive immobilization and the highest specific characteristics when using a “floating” electrode simulating a gas-diffusion electrode, are determined: 0.2 M phosphate-acetate buffer solution; oxygen atmosphere; the carrier material (nanotubes with a BET surface area of 210 m²/g and a mesopore volume of 3.8 cm³/g); and the composition of active mass on the electrode (50 wt % of carbon material + 50 wt % of hydrophobized carbon black).     

Recent advances in surface chemistry of electrodes to promote direct enzymatic bioelectrocatalysis

Redox enzymes catalyze major reactions in microorganisms to supply energy for life. Their use in electrochemical biodevices requires their integration on electrodes, while maintaining their activity and optimizing their stability. In return, such applicative development puts forward the knowledge on involved catalytic mechanisms, providing a direct electrode connection of the enzyme is fulfilled. Enzymes being large molecules with active site embedded in an insulating moiety, direct bioelectrocatalysis supposes strategies for specific orientation of the enzyme to be developed. In this review, we summarize recent advances during the past 3 years in the chemical modification of electrodes favoring direct electrocatalysis. We present the different methodologies used according to the electrode materials, including metals, carbon-based electrodes, or porous structures and discuss the gained insights into bioelectrocatalysis. We especially focus on enzyme engineering, which appears as an emerging strategy for enzyme anchoring. Remaining challenges will be discussed with regard to these later findings.     

Electrocatalytic Reduction of Hydrogen Peroxide on Polymethylpyrrole–Peroxidase Composite Film Plated on Gold Electrode

Horse radish peroxidase (POD), which is codeposited with polymethylpyrrole on a gold electrode, catalyzes hydrogen peroxide electroreduction. In the case of thin films deposition (Q < 4 mC cm^–2), less than one monolayer of enzyme located on the film's surface is involved in the electrochemical reaction. An increase in the limiting current points to an increase in the number of molecules accessible for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the composite system. The calculated values of layer's thickness suggest, for thin films, the formation of an ensemble of nanosize polymethylpyrrole-peroxidase particles. At a larger thickness of the composite coating (Q > 4 mC cm^–2), the cathodic current increases only at low polarizations. In this case, probably, the POD molecules located on the surface and in the bulk film are involved in the reaction. From these results we conclude that, in the composite system studied, polymethylpyrrole provides the electron transfer to enzyme molecules, and the reaction's mechanism is likely to be the same in the cases of both carbon and gold substrates.     

固酶氮掺杂碳纳米复合物基燃料电池性能

利用掺杂氮介孔材料(NDMPC)和羧甲基壳聚糖(CMCH)机械共混的纳米复合物作为固酶载体,以滴涂-干燥法分别制备了固定漆酶(Lac)阴极和固定葡萄糖氧化酶阳极,组装了有Nafion离子交换膜的葡萄糖/O₂酶燃料电池.固定漆酶电极作为燃料电池阴极和氧电化学传感器的性能以结合旋转圆盘电极技术的循环伏安法、线性扫描伏安(LSV)法以及计时电流法进行表征,同时使用紫外-可见分光光度法和石墨炉原子吸收光谱法研究酶分子在电极表面的构型和估算电极表面载体对酶的担载量.测试结果表明:固酶阴极在无电子中介体时可以实现漆酶活性中心T₁与导电基体之间的直接电子迁移(表观电子迁移速率为0.013 s^-1),而且具有较小的氧还原超电势(150 mV).通过进一步定量比较分子内电子传递速率(1000 s^-1)、底物转化速率(0.023 s^-1)以及前述酶-导电基体间电子迁移速率,可以发现此电极催化氧还原循环受制于酶-电极之间的电子迁移过程;这种电极对氧的传感性能良好:低检测限(0.04 μmol·dm^-3)、高灵敏度(12.1 μA·μmol^-1·dm³)和良好的对氧亲和力(K_M = 8.2 μmol·dm^-3),这种固酶阴极还具有良好的重现性、长期使用性、热稳定性和pH耐受性.组装的生物燃料电池的开路电压为0.38 V,最大能量输出密度为19.2 μW·cm^-2,最佳工作条件下使用3周后输出功率密度仍可保持初始值的60%以上.     

Bioelectrocatalytic Reduction of Peroxide Compounds on the Peroxidase–Nafion Composite

Electrochemical reactions of peroxide compounds (hydrogen peroxide and peracetic and perbenzoic acids) on an electrode of pyrocarbon with immobilized horseradish peroxidase (HRP) are studied. The immobilization of HRP is performed in the composition of a composite with Nafion whose structure is studied by a method of scanning tunneling microscopy. The proposed composite material provides for a high catalytic activity and stability of enzyme in the reaction of reduction of peroxide compounds. It is shown that the electrocatalytic reduction of the studied compounds on the electrode with the peroxidase–Nafion composite proceeds in conditions of direct bioelectrocatalysis. The effect of the solution pH and the concentration of substrates on the electrocatalytic activity of HRP in the composition of the composite is studied. On the basis of the obtained results a possible mechanism of the electrocatalytic reduction of peroxide compounds in the presence of HRP is suggested. The rate of a bioelectrocatalytic process is defined by the nature and concentration of the substrate as well as by the electrode potential and the solution pH.