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

• Published in: ChemSusChem Vol. 10; no. 22; pp. 4457 - 4460
• Main Authors: Carey, Anne‐Marie, Zhang, HaoJie, Liu, Minghui, Sharaf, Daiana, Akram, Natalie, Yan, Hao, Lin, Su, Woodbury, Neal W., Seo, Dong‐Kyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 23-11-2017
• Subjects: Antennas; artificial photosynthesis; Biomimetic Materials; Biomimetics; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA - chemistry; Dyes; Electricity; Energy Transfer; Fluorescent Dyes - chemistry; light harvesting; Modular systems; Molecular Structure; Photoelectric effect; Photoelectric emission; photoelectrochemical cells; Photoelectrochemical devices; Photosynthesis; Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins - chemistry; Rhodobacter sphaeroides; Solar Energy; Structure-Activity Relationship; Sunlight; energy transfer; photoelectrochemical cells; artificial photosynthesis; light harvesting; DNA
• ISSN: 1864-5631; 1864-564X
• DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201701390

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.
Helios meets helices: DNA‐based biomimetic antennas have realized up to four‐times higher photocurrents through Förster resonance energy transfer cascade for a photosynthetic reaction center protein‐based biohybrid photoelectrochemical cell where the DNA antenna‐bonded proteins are housed in a highly porous transparent conducting antimony‐doped tin oxide electrode.