Unveiling the Glucose Oxidase-Like and Catalase-Like Activities of Highly Conjugated 3,4,9,10-Perylenetetracarboxylic Dianhydride for Boosting Biofuel Cells

Carbon-based nanozymes have received considerable attention due to their superior biosafety, enhanced tolerance to extreme conditions, and ease of chemical modification. However, due to limited material diversity and unconfirmed molecular structure, carbon-based nanozymes face challenges such as relatively low enzyme activity and unclear catalytic mechanisms. The development of materials with well-defined structures and controllable properties is crucial for promoting the rapid progress of nanozymes. Herein, 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PD) exhibits both glucose oxidase (GOx)-like and catalase (CAT)-like activities, which may be due to the fact that PD possesses the features of highly conjugated structure and high electron mobility. In addition, it is demonstrated that the enzymatic activity is related to the degree of PD aggregation via the characterization of its morphology and size. Based on the excellent GOx-like and CAT-like activities of PD, a self-cascade catalytic system is constructed for application in biofuel cells (BFCs). It is worth mentioning that such BFC still maintains high stability after working for 30 days. Therefore, this study expands the enzyme-like systems and discovers that nanomaterials with highly conjugated structures and high electron mobility can mimic enzymes. Additionally, the multi-enzyme activities are utilized to construct self-cascade systems, which can effectively improve the performance of BFCs. 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PD), with a highly conjugated structure and high electron mobility, is discovered to exhibit both glucose oxidase-like and catalase-like activities. A self-cascade catalytic system based on the dual enzyme activities of PD is constructed for application in the anode of biofuel cells (BFCs), which can consume H2O2 in situ and effectively improve the performance of BFCs. image