title: Comparison of carbon materials as electrodes for enzyme electrocatalysis: hydrogenase as a case study.
abstract: We present a study of electrocatalysis by an enzyme adsorbed on a range of carbon materials, with different size, surface area, morphology and graphitic structure, which are either commercially available or prepared via simple, established protocols. We choose as our model enzyme the hydrogenase I from E. coli (Hyd-1), which is an active catalyst for H2 oxidation, is relatively robust and has been demonstrated in H2 fuel cells and H2-driven chemical synthesis. The carbon materials were characterised according to their surface area, surface morphology and graphitic character, and we use the electrocatalytic H2 oxidation current for Hyd-1 adsorbed on these materials to evaluate their effectiveness as enzyme electrodes. Here, we show that a variety of carbon materials are suitable for adsorbing hydrogenases in an electroactive configuration. This unified study provides insight into selection and design of carbon materials for study of redox enzymes and different applications of enzyme electrocatalysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK. nicole.grobert@materials.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quinson
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ash
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Grobert
authors.forename: Kylie A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Vincent
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D006859:Hydrogen; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C029746:uptake hydrogenase