Water electrolysis to produce H2 is a promising strategy for generating a renewable fuel.However,the sluggish-kinetics and low value-added anodic oxygen evolution reaction(OER)restricts the overall energy conversion e...Water electrolysis to produce H2 is a promising strategy for generating a renewable fuel.However,the sluggish-kinetics and low value-added anodic oxygen evolution reaction(OER)restricts the overall energy conversion efficiency.Herein we report a strategy of boosting H_(2)production at low voltages by replacing OER with a bioelectrochemical cascade reaction at a triphase bioanode.In the presence of oxygen,oxidase enzymes can convert biomass into valuable products,and concurrently generate H_(2)O_(2) that can be further electrooxidized at the bioanode.Benefiting from the efficient oxidase kinetics at an oxygen-rich triphase bioanode and the more favorable thermodynamics of H_(2)O_(2)oxidation than that of OER,the cell voltage and energy consumption are reduced by~0.70 V and~36%,respectively,relative to regular water electrolysis.This leads to an efficient H_(2)production at the cathode and valuable product generation at the bioanode.Integration of a bioelectrochemical cascade into the water splitting process provides an energy-efficient and promising pathway for achieving a renewable fuel.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(2019YFA0709200)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21988102,51772198 and 21975171)。
文摘Water electrolysis to produce H2 is a promising strategy for generating a renewable fuel.However,the sluggish-kinetics and low value-added anodic oxygen evolution reaction(OER)restricts the overall energy conversion efficiency.Herein we report a strategy of boosting H_(2)production at low voltages by replacing OER with a bioelectrochemical cascade reaction at a triphase bioanode.In the presence of oxygen,oxidase enzymes can convert biomass into valuable products,and concurrently generate H_(2)O_(2) that can be further electrooxidized at the bioanode.Benefiting from the efficient oxidase kinetics at an oxygen-rich triphase bioanode and the more favorable thermodynamics of H_(2)O_(2)oxidation than that of OER,the cell voltage and energy consumption are reduced by~0.70 V and~36%,respectively,relative to regular water electrolysis.This leads to an efficient H_(2)production at the cathode and valuable product generation at the bioanode.Integration of a bioelectrochemical cascade into the water splitting process provides an energy-efficient and promising pathway for achieving a renewable fuel.
