Cobalt sulfides/carbon nanohybrids: a novel biocatalyst for nonenzymatic glucose biofuel cells and biosensors

Abstract

Exploring high-performance electrocatalysts is of great importance in developing nonenzymatic biofuel cells. Hybrid nanostructures with transition metal compounds and carbon nanomaterials exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity and have emerged as promising low-cost alternatives for various electrochemical reactions. Herein, we report cobalt sulfide/carbon nanohybrids via a facile synthesis, which have excellent electrocatalytic activity for glucose oxidation and oxygen reduction reaction. The nonenzymatic glucose biofuel cells equipped with cobalt sulfide/carbon nanohybrids deliver a high open circuit voltage of 0.72 V with a maximum open power density of 88 μW cm⁻², indicating that cobalt sulfide/carbon nanohybrids are high performance biocatalysts for bioenergy conversion.