Abstract
Bioenergy from photosynthetic living organisms is a potential solution for energy‐harvesting and bioelectricity‐generation issues. With the emerging interest in biophotovoltaics, extracting electricity from photosynthetic organisms remains challenging because of the low electron‐transition rate and photon collection efficiency due to membrane shielding. In this study, the concept of “photosynthetic resonator” to amplify biological nanoelectricity through the confinement of living microalgae (Chlorella sp.) in an optical micro/nanocavity is demonstrated. Strong energy coupling between the Fabry–Perot cavity mode and photosynthetic resonance offers the potential of exploiting optical resonators to amplify photocurrent generation as well as energy harvesting. Biomimetic models and living photosynthesis are explored in which the power is increased by almost 600% and 200%, respectively. Systematic studies of photosystem fluorescence and photocurrent are simultaneously carried out. Finally, an optofluidic‐based photosynthetic device is developed. It is envisaged that the key innovations proposed in this study can provide comprehensive insights in biological‐energy sciences, suggesting a new avenue to amplify electrochemical signals using an optical cavity. Promising applications include photocatalysis, photoelectrochemistry, biofuel devices, and sustainable optoelectronics.
Highlights
Extracting bioelectricity from living photosynthetic organisms such as microalgae remains chalthrough the confinement of living microalgae (Chlorella sp.) in an optical lenging
Biomimetic models and living photosynthesis are explored in which the power is increased by almost 600% and 200%, respectively
When excitation energy reaches chlorophylls at the reaction center, electron transfer is initiated through an electron transport chain. Both photosystems exhibit a red fluorescence emission band and dual absorption bands at 420 and 670 nm, which is mainly due to chlorophyll a (Chla) molecules in microalgae (Figure S1, Supporting Information)
Summary
Both photosystems exhibit a red fluorescence emission band and dual absorption bands at 420 and 670 nm, which is mainly due to Chla molecules in microalgae (Figure S1, Supporting Information). The strong energy coupling between the FP cavity mode and photosynthetic resonance (absorption–emission bands in the photosystems) enhances the photocurrent generation (Figure 1b).
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