Polyphenolic compounds as electron shuttles for sustainable energy utilization

For renewable and sustainable bioenergy utilization with cost-effectiveness, electron-shuttles (ESs) (or redox mediators (RMs)) act as electrochemical “catalysts” to enhance rates of redox reactions, catalytically accelerating electron transport efficiency for abiotic and biotic electrochemical reactions. ESs are popularly used in cellular respiratory systems, metabolisms in organisms, and widely applied to support global lives. Apparently, they are applicable to increase power-generating capabilities for energy utilization and/or fuel storage (i.e., dye-sensitized solar cell, batteries, and microbial fuel cells (MFCs)). This first-attempt review specifically deciphers the chemical structure association with characteristics of ESs, and discloses redox-mediating potentials of polyphenolics-abundant ESs via MFC modules. Moreover, to effectively convert electron-shuttling capabilities from non-sustainable antioxidant activities, environmental conditions to induce electrochemical mediation apparently play critical roles of great significance for bioenergy stimulation. For example, pH levels would significantly affect electrochemical potentials to be exhibited (e.g., alkaline pHs are electrochemically favorable for expression of such electron-shuttling characteristics). Regarding chemical structure effect, chemicals with ortho- and para-dihydroxyl substituents-bearing aromatics own convertible characteristics of non-renewable antioxidants and electrochemically catalytic ESs; however, ES capabilities of meta-dihydroxyl substituents can be evidently repressed due to lack of resonance effect in the structure for intermediate radical(s) during redox reaction. Moreover, this review provides conclusive remarks to elucidate the promising feasibility to identify whether such characteristics are non-renewable antioxidants or reversible ESs from natural polyphenols via cyclic voltammetry and MFC evaluation. Evidently, considering sustainable development, such electrochemically convertible polyphenolic species in plant extracts can be reversibly expressed for bioenergy-stimulating capabilities in MFCs under electrochemically favorable conditions.