One-step polyaniline-platinum nanoparticles grafting on porous gold anode electrodes for high-performance glucose fuel cells

Bioelectronics, which integrates biological systems with electronic devices, holds immense potential for advancing medical diagnostics and therapies. Most of these devices currently rely on traditional batteries that cannot be miniaturised effectively without losing capacity. Glucose fuel cells (GFCs) are emerging as a promising technology to provide miniaturised and biocompatible power sources for bioelectronics. In this study, a non-enzymatic GFC on a printed circuit board (PCB) is designed, which implements a nanocomposite catalytic anode electrode. The electrode is fabricated using a rapid one-step method involving the simultaneous electropolymerisation of polyaniline and the in-situ formation and entrapment of platinum (Pt) nanoparticles within the polymer matrix onto a highly porous gold surface. Physicochemical characterizations of the resulting nanocomposite confirmed the preservation of the highly porous gold structure post-polyaniline polymerisation, with an increased pore depth and uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles. The glucose fuel cells, with the nanocomposite electrode as the anode, generate a maximum power density of 61.7 ± 1.3 μW cm−2 at a current density of 221 ± 3 μA cm−2 under a physiological concentration of glucose (6 mM) and at 37 °C. This power performance is maintained over three months of repetitive testing, showing the greatest stability so far reported for glucose fuel cells. Accordingly, this work advances research in glucose fuel cell technology, paving the way for their practical use in medical devices.