Comparison of electropolymerized thiazine dyes as an electrocatalyst in enzymatic biofuel cells and self powered sensors.

This paper details the comparison of different electropolymerized thiazine electrocatalysts for NADH oxidation. Electropolymerized thiazines have been shown to be electrocatalysts for NADH, but no comprehensive comparison of their properties in the same environment has been performed. The electropolymerization and electrocatalysis is very dependent on chemical and electrochemical environment, so the thiazines (methylene green, methylene blue, toluidine blue, azure a, azure b, and azure c) were all electropolymerized in the same chemical and electrochemical environment and tested for NADH electrocatalysis. All of the thiazines can be electropolymerized to form stable polymer modified electrodes on glassy carbon electrodes and all shown electrocatalytic activity toward NADH. However, each polymer has different properties and therefore would be employed in different applications, depending on whether open circuit potential, current density, or lifetime is the most important condition of the biofuel cell. This paper further compares NAD-dependent glucose dehydrogenase bioelectrocatalysis with poly(methylene green) and poly(methylene blue) electrocatalysts in terms of sensitivity to glucose and biofuel cell performance.