Enhancing Photocurrent Generation in Photosynthetic Reaction Center-Based Photoelectrochemical Cells with Biomimetic DNA Antenna

Anne Marie Carey, Haojie Zhang, Minghui Liu, Daiana Sharaf, Natalie Akram, Hao Yan, Su Lin, Neal Woodbury, Dong Seo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Three- to four-times higher performance of biohybrid photoelectrochemical cells with photosynthetic reaction centers (RC) has been achieved by using a DNA-based biomimetic antenna. Synthetic dyes Cy3 and Cy5 were chosen and strategically placed in the anntena in such a way that they can collect additional light energy in the visible region of the solar spectrum and transfer it to RC through Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). The antenna, a DNA templated multiple dye system, is attached to each Rhodobacter sphaeroides RC near the primary donor, P, to facilitate the energy transfer process. Excitation with a broad light spectrum (approximating sunlight) triggers a cascade of excitation energy transfer from Cy3 to Cy5 to P, and also directly from Cy5 to P. This additional excitation energy increases the RC absorbance cross-section in the visible and thus the performance of the photoelectrochemical cells. DNA-based biomimetic antennas offer a tunable, modular light-harvesting system for enhancing RC solar coverage and performance for photoelectrochemical cells.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4457-4460
Number of pages4
JournalChemSusChem
Volume10
Issue number22
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 23 2017

Keywords

  • DNA
  • artificial photosynthesis
  • energy transfer
  • light harvesting
  • photoelectrochemical cells

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • General Materials Science
  • General Energy

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