Solar Energy Conversion through Thylakoid Membranes Wired by Osmium Redox Polymer and Indium Tin Oxide Nanoparticles

Counteranion Effects on the Incorporation of Photosystem I with Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)

Conductive polymers provide an effective interface for proteins, particularly in photovoltaic applications. The synthetic toolbox affords a variety of options in which to fine-tune protein-polymer properties toward better engineered materials. While prior work has shown compatibility between Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and Photosystem I, a detailed study of counteranion effects with interfacing Photosystem I has yet to be performed. This study, which fills a significant gap in the field, involves the synthesis of PEDOT films with a variety of different potassium-based salts. Morphology, capacitance, and impedances all varied across the films when deposited in the presence of the different anions. These properties were evaluated independently before interfacing PSI. After incorporating PSI within these films through entrapment and deposition approaches, the counteranion dependent properties were explored further through the photoactivity of these composite films. Results showed that films produced with the bromide anion provided the highest photocurrent output due to the porous leaf-like structure of the conducting polymer matrix.

Emerging approaches of utilizing trees to produce advanced structural and functional materials

The global number of trees is approximately 3 trillion, covering 31% of the land area. Trees are considered a cheap, abundant, renewable, and environmentally friendly feedstock for producing advanced structural and functional materials toward a widespread application in sustainable energy and environment. In this highlight, we reveal the structure and composition of wood, leaves, and tree extracts, and then highlight the strategies to control their hierarchical structures and properties. Moreover, we provide an up-to-date overview of their emerging applications in sustainable buildings, ionic nanofluidics, batteries, capacitors, solar cells, environmental remediation, biodegradable packaging, and nanomaterial synthesis. Finally, we outline the challenges and opportunities in valorizing trees for creating a sustainable future.

Extremozyme-Based Biosensors for Environmental Pollution Monitoring: Recent Developments

Extremozymes combine high specificity and sensitivity with the ability to withstand extreme operational conditions. This work presents an overview of extremozymes that show potential for environmental monitoring devices and outlines the latest advances in biosensors utilizing these unique molecules. The characteristics of various extremozymes described so far are presented, underlining their stability and operational conditions that make them attractive for biosensing. The biosensor design is discussed based on the detection of photosynthesis-inhibiting herbicides as a case study. Several biosensors for the detection of pesticides, heavy metals, and phenols are presented in more detail to highlight interesting substrate specificity, applications or immobilization methods. Compared to mesophilic enzymes, the integration of extremozymes in biosensors faces additional challenges related to lower availability and high production costs. The use of extremozymes in biosensing does not parallel their success in industrial applications. In recent years, the "collection" of recognition elements was enriched by extremozymes with interesting selectivity and by thermostable chimeras. The perspectives for biosensor development are exciting, considering also the progress in genetic editing for the oriented immobilization of enzymes, efficient folding, and better electron transport. Stability, production costs and immobilization at sensing interfaces must be improved to encourage wider applications of extremozymes in biosensors.

Photosystem II for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production

Water is a primary source of electrons and protons for photosynthetic organisms. For the production of hydrogen through the process of mimicking natural photosynthesis, photosystem II (PSII)-based hybrid photosynthetic systems have been created, both with and without an external voltage source. In the past 30 years, various PSII immobilization techniques have been proposed, and redox polymers have been created for charge transfer from PSII. This review considers the main components of photosynthetic systems, methods for evaluating efficiency, implemented systems and the ways to improve them. Recently, low-overpotential catalysts have emerged that do not contain precious metals, which could ultimately replace Pt and Ir catalysts and make water electrolysis cheaper. However, PSII competes with semiconductor analogues that are less efficient but more stable. Methods originally created for sensors also allow for the use of PSII as a component of a photoanode. To date, charge transfer from PSII remains a bottleneck for such systems. Novel data about action mechanism of artificial electron acceptors in PSII could develop redox polymers to level out mass transport limitations. Hydrogen-producing systems based on PSII have allowed to work out processes in artificial photosynthesis, investigate its features and limitations.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12551-023-01139-5.

Closing the green gap of photosystem I with synthetic fluorophores for enhanced photocurrent generation in photobiocathodes

One restriction for biohybrid photovoltaics is the limited conversion of green light by most natural photoactive components. The present study aims to fill the green gap of photosystem I (PSI) with covalently linked fluorophores, ATTO 590 and ATTO 532. Photobiocathodes are prepared by combining a 20 μm thick 3D indium tin oxide (ITO) structure with these constructs to enhance the photocurrent density compared to setups based on native PSI. To this end, two electron transfer mechanisms, with and without a mediator, are studied to evaluate differences in the behavior of the constructs. Wavelength-dependent measurements confirm the influence of the additional fluorophores on the photocurrent. The performance is significantly increased for all modifications compared to native PSI when cytochrome c is present as a redox-mediator. The photocurrent almost doubles from -32.5 to up to -60.9 μA cm^-2. For mediator-less photobiocathodes, interestingly, drastic differences appear between the constructs made with various dyes. While the turnover frequency (TOF) is doubled to 10 e^-/PSI/s for PSI-ATTO590 on the 3D ITO compared to the reference specimen, the photocurrents are slightly smaller since the PSI-ATTO590 coverage is low. In contrast, the PSI-ATTO532 construct performs exceptionally well. The TOF increases to 31 e^-/PSI/s, and a photocurrent of -47.0 μA cm^-2 is obtained. This current is a factor of 6 better than the reference made with native PSI in direct electron transfer mode and sets a new record for mediator-free photobioelectrodes combining 3D electrode structures and light-converting biocomponents.