Bioelectrochemical Oxidation of Water

Abstract

The electrolysis of water provides a link between electrical energy and hydrogen, a high energy density fuel and a versatile energy carrier, but the process is very expensive. Indeed, the main challenge is to reduce energy consumption for large-scale applications using efficient renewable catalysts, which can be produced at low cost. Here we present for the first time that laccase can catalyse electrooxidation of H2O to molecular oxygen. Native and laboratory evolved laccases immobilized onto electrodes serve as bioelectrocatalytic systems with low overpotential and a high O2 evolution ratio against H2O2 production during H2O electrolysis. Our results open a new research ground on H2O splitting as they allow overcoming serious practical limitations associated with artificial electrocatalysts used for O2 evolution nowadays.