Carbon Cloth/Carbon Nanotube Electrodes for Biofuel Cells Development

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown on carbon cloth substantially increased the surface area of the electrodes. Carbon cloths were pretreated with HNO3 vapor before CNTs growth and electrochemically oxidized afterwards. The CNT-modified carbon cloths were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Biofuel cells based on these CNT-modified electrode materials using Laccase from Trametes hirsuta and cellobiose dehydrogenase from Myriococcum thermophilium entrapped in specifically designed Os-complex modified redox polymers showed a power density of 5.87 mu W/cm2 which is 125 fold enhanced as compared with electrodes prepared on untreated carbon cloth.