A bacteriorhodopsin-based biohybrid solar cell using carbon-based electrolyte and cathode components

Christopher Espinoza-Araya; Ricardo Starbird; E Senthil Prasad; Venkatesan Renugopalakrishnan; Ashok Mulchandani; Barry D Bruce; Claudia C Villarreal

doi:10.1016/j.bbabio.2023.148985

A bacteriorhodopsin-based biohybrid solar cell using carbon-based electrolyte and cathode components

Biochim Biophys Acta Bioenerg. 2023 Nov 1;1864(4):148985. doi: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2023.148985. Epub 2023 May 24.

Authors

Christopher Espinoza-Araya¹, Ricardo Starbird², E Senthil Prasad³, Venkatesan Renugopalakrishnan⁴, Ashok Mulchandani⁵, Barry D Bruce⁶, Claudia C Villarreal⁷

Affiliations

¹ Escuela de Ciencia e Ingeniería de Materiales, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago 30101, Costa Rica; Centro de Investigación y Extensión en Ingeniería de Materiales (CIEMTEC), Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago 30101, Costa Rica; Maestría en Ingeniería de Dispositivos Médicos, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago 30101, Costa Rica.
² Centro de Investigación y de Servicios Químicos y Microbiológicos (CEQIATEC), Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago 30101, Costa Rica; Escuela de Química, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago 30101, Costa Rica.
³ Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh 160036, India.
⁴ Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; MGB Center for COVID Innovation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Renewable Energy Technology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02138, USA.
⁵ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; Center for Environmental Research & Technology (CE-CERT), University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92507, USA.
⁶ Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; Program in Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, TN 37830, USA. Electronic address: bbruce@utk.edu.
⁷ Escuela de Ciencia e Ingeniería de Materiales, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago 30101, Costa Rica; Centro de Investigación y Extensión en Ingeniería de Materiales (CIEMTEC), Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago 30101, Costa Rica. Electronic address: cchaves@itcr.ac.cr.

PMID: 37236292
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2023.148985

Abstract

There is currently a high demand for energy production worldwide, mainly producing renewable and sustainable energy. Bio-sensitized solar cells (BSCs) are an excellent option in this field due to their optical and photoelectrical properties developed in recent years. One of the biosensitizers that shows promise in simplicity, stability and quantum efficiency is bacteriorhodopsin (bR), a photoactive, retinal-containing membrane protein. In the present work, we have utilized a mutant of bR, D96N, in a photoanode-sensitized TiO₂ solar cell, integrating low-cost, carbon-based components, including a cathode composed of PEDOT (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) functionalized with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) and a hydroquinone/benzoquinone (HQ/BQ) redox electrolyte. The photoanode and cathode were characterized morphologically and chemically (SEM, TEM, and Raman). The electrochemical performance of the bR-BSCs was investigated using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), open circuit potential decay (V_OC), and impedance spectroscopic analysis (EIS). The champion device yielded a current density (J_SC) of 1.0 mA/cm², V_OC of -669 mV, a fill factor of ~24 %, and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.16 %. This bR device is one of the first bio-based solar cells utilizing carbon-based alternatives for the photoanode, cathode, and electrolyte. This may decrease the cost and significantly improve the device's sustainability.

Keywords: Bacteriorhodopsin; Bio-sensitized solar cell; Carbon nanotubes; PEDOT; Quinone.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacteriorhodopsins* / metabolism
Electrodes
Electrolytes / metabolism
Nanotubes, Carbon* / chemistry
Solar Energy*

Substances

Bacteriorhodopsins
Nanotubes, Carbon
Electrolytes