The scientists at the Brigham Young University have devised a fuel cell that utilizes glucose and carbohydrates. They made use of a herbicide as the catalyst that extracts electrons from glucose and transfer it to an electrode. However, to be able to power our cars, homes or gadgets in the near future, the carbohydrate-based fuel cell needs some design improvements.
The experiments until date have yielded a 29 percent conversion rate i.e. the transfer of seven of the 24 available electrons per glucose molecule, says BYU chemistry professor Gerald Watt. Still, if we consider the past exploits that saw a doubled conversion since they started working on the design, the capacity is supposed to get better for sure.
Via: News Release