Espinoza-Araya, Christopher and Starbird, Ricardo and Prasad, E Senthil and Renugopalakrishnan, Venkatesan and Mulchandani, Ashok and Bruce, Barry D and Villarreal, Claudia C (2023) A bacteriorhodopsin-based biohybrid solar cell using carbon-based electrolyte and cathode components. Biochim. Biophys. Acta Bioenerg., 1864 (4). p. 148985.
Full text not available from this repository.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 (VOC), and impedance spectroscopic analysis (EIS). The champion device yielded a current density (JSC) of 1.0 mA/cm2, VOC 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.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Bacteriorhodopsin; Bio-sensitized solar cell; Carbon nanotubes; PEDOT; Quinone |
| Depositing User: | Dr. K.P.S.Sengar |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Feb 2026 03:00 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Feb 2026 03:00 |
| URI: | http://crdd.osdd.net/open/id/eprint/3296 |
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