Abstract
A transparent biohybrid photoelectrochemical tandem cell is developed by employing optically-complementary variants of a photosynthetic protein in a stacked tandem architecture that utilizes a conductive polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), as a transparent counter electrode. The tandem design demonstrates the photocurrent enhancement by complementary absorption of two naturally-occurring red and green versions of a bacterial Reaction center/Light Harvesting protein (RC-LH1) that vary in the type of light harvesting carotenoid feeding the central reaction center module with excited state energy. The use of PEDOT:PSS electrode results in a 12-fold improvement in photocurrent compared to that achievable with Platinum.
Highlights
reaction center (RC) from purple photosynthetic bacteria such as Rhodobacter (Rba.) sphaeroides,[9] and the larger RC–LH1 complexes they form with the LH1 light harvesting protein,[10] are a popular choice for the construction of photo-bioelectrochemical cells.[7,11,12] Previous studies utilizing these proteins have been aimed at enhancing photocurrent generation by improving the effectiveness of protein–electrode electron transfer processes in three-electrode cells[13] or, to a lesser extent, in two-electrode cells.[14,15] Manipulating protein orientation and the nature of
RCs from purple photosynthetic bacteria such as Rhodobacter (Rba.) sphaeroides,[9] and the larger RC–LH1 complexes they form with the LH1 light harvesting protein,[10] are a popular choice for the construction of photo-bioelectrochemical cells.[7,11,12]
As the tandem cell architecture requires a transparent rear electrode for the front cell, we have explored the option of using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)
Summary
RCs from purple photosynthetic bacteria such as Rhodobacter (Rba.) sphaeroides,[9] and the larger RC–LH1 complexes they form with the LH1 light harvesting protein,[10] are a popular choice for the construction of photo-bioelectrochemical cells.[7,11,12] Previous studies utilizing these proteins have been aimed at enhancing photocurrent generation by improving the effectiveness of protein–electrode electron transfer processes in three-electrode cells[13] or, to a lesser extent, in two-electrode cells.[14,15] Manipulating protein orientation and the nature of. Optically-complementary RC–LH1red and RC–LH1green proteins were encapsulated in subcells formed from a sandwich of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass and PEDOT:PSS electrodes, and assembled either individually or in a tandem architecture.
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