Département de chimie moléculaire

In this work, POXC, a laccase from Pleurotus ostreatus, was immobilized on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modified by electrografting anthraquinone and naphthoate diazonium salts. Thanks to a favorable interaction between laccase and covalently modified CNTs, this laccase exhibits high-potential/high-current oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performances, surpassing the performances of the well-known laccase from Trametes versicolor (TvLAC) immobilized on the same nanostructured electrodes. Furthermore, immobilized POXC demonstrates high ORR activity over a wide range of pH (2 to 8), being also highly active at a gas-diffusion electrode. Finally, owing to these unique performances, this enzyme was able to operate at the interface of the microporous layer, humidified air and a polymer electrolyte, that is, Nafion?, in a conventional H2/air proton-exchange membrane fuel.