A robust single compartment peroxide fuel cell using mesoporous antimony doped tin oxide as the cathode material.

To date, metal oxide catalysts have not been explored as cathode materials for robust and high-performance single-compartment H2O2 fuel cells due to significant non-electrochemical disproportionation losses of H2O2 on many metal oxide surfaces. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate an acidic peroxide fuel cell with antimony doped tin oxide as the cathode and widely used Ni foam as the anode material. Our constructed peroxide fuel cell records a superior open circuit potential of nearly 0.82 V and a maximum power density of 0.32 mW cm-2 with high operational stability. The fuel cell performance is further improved by increasing the ionic strength of the electrolyte with the addition of 1 M NaCl, resulting in an increased maximum power density value of 1.1 mW cm-2.

Enhanced Catalytic Activity of a New Nanobiocatalytic System Formed by the Adsorption of Cytochrome c on Pluronic Triblock Copolymer Stabilized MoS2 Nanosheets.

The formation of nanobiohybrids through the immobilization of enzymes on functional nanomaterials has opened up exciting research opportunities at the nanobiointerfaces. These systems hold great promise for a wide range of applications in biosensing, biocatalytic, and biomedical fields. Here, we report the formation of a hybrid nanobiocatalytic system through the adsorption of cytochrome c (Cyt c) on pluronic triblock copolymer, P123 (PEO-b-PPO-b-PEO), stabilized MoS2 nanosheets. The use of pluronic polymer has helped not only to greatly stabilize the exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets but also to allow easy adsorption of Cyt c on the nanosheets without major structural changes due to its excellent biocompatibility and soft protein-binding property. By comparing the catalytic activity of the Cyt c-MoS2 nanobiohybrid with that of the free Cyt c and as-prepared MoS2 nanosheets, we have demonstrated the active role of the nanobiointeractions in enhancing the catalytic activity of the hybrid. Slight structural perturbation at the active site of the Cyt c upon adsorption on MoS2 has primarily facilitated the peroxidase activity of the Cyt c. As the MoS2 nanosheets and the native Cyt c individually exhibit weaker intrinsic peroxidase activities, their mutual modulation at the nanobiointerface has made the Cyt c-MoS2 a novel nanobiocatalyst with superior activity.