Abstract
Energy generation from renewable sources and effective management are two critical
challenges for sustainable development. Biofuel Cells (BFCs) provide an elegant solution by combining
these two tasks. BFCs are defined by the catalyst used in the fuel cell and can directly generate
electricity from biological substances. Various nontoxic chemical fuels, such as glucose, lactate,
urate, alcohol, amines, starch, and fructose, can be used in BFCs and have specific components to
oxide fuels. Widely available fuel sources and moderate operational conditions make them promise
in renewable energy generation, remote device power sources, etc. Enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs)
use enzymes as a catalyst to oxidize the fuel rather than precious metals. The shortcoming of the
EBFCs system leads to integrated miniaturization issues, lower power density, poor operational stability,
lower voltage output, lower energy density, inadequate durability, instability in the long-term
application, and incomplete fuel oxidation. This necessitates the development of non-enzymatic biofuel
cells (NEBFCs). The review paper extensively studies NEBFCs and its various synthetic strategies
and catalytic characteristics. This paper reviews the use of nanocomposites as biocatalysts in
biofuel cells and the principle of biofuel cells as well as their construction elements. This review
briefly presents recent technologies developed to improve the biocatalytic properties, biocompatibility,
biodegradability, implantability, and mechanical flexibility of BFCs.
Graphical Abstract
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