Kuruvinashetti Kiran, Packirisamy Muthukumaran
Optical-Bio Microsystems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H3G1M8 Canada.
Microsyst Nanoeng. 2022 Mar 14;8:29. doi: 10.1038/s41378-022-00361-7. eCollection 2022.
Microphotosynthetic power cells (µPSCs) generate power through the exploitation of living photosynthetic microorganisms by harvesting sunlight. The thermodynamic limitations of this process restrict the power output of a single µPSC. Herein, we demonstrate µPSCs in four different array configurations to enhance power output from these power cells. To this effect, six µPSCs were arrayed in series, parallel, and combinations of series and parallel configurations. Each µPSC was injected with a 2 mL liquid culture of photosynthetic microorganisms (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) in the anode and 2 mL of 25% (w/v) electron acceptor potassium ferricyanide (KFe(CN)) in the cathode. The combinations of µPSCs connected in series and parallel generated higher power than the individual series and parallel configurations. The combinations of six µPSCs connected in series and in parallel produced a high power density of 1914 mWm in the presence of white fluorescent light illumination at 20 µEms. Furthermore, to realize the array strategy for real-time applications, a 1.7 V/2 mA rating light-emitting diode (LED) was powered by combinations of series and parallel array configurations. The results indicate the reliability of µPSCs to produce electricity from photosynthetic microorganisms for low-power applications. In addition, the results suggest that a combination of microlevel photosynthetic cells in array format represents a powerful optimal design strategy to enhance the power output from µPSCs.
微光合电池（µPSCs）通过利用活的光合微生物捕获阳光来发电。这一过程的热力学限制制约了单个µPSCs的功率输出。在此，我们展示了四种不同阵列配置的µPSCs，以提高这些电池的功率输出。为此，将六个µPSCs以串联、并联以及串并联组合的方式排列。每个µPSCs的阳极注入2 mL光合微生物（莱茵衣藻）液体培养物，阴极注入2 mL 25%（w/v）的电子受体铁氰化钾（KFe(CN)）。串并联连接的µPSCs组合产生的功率高于单独的串联和并联配置。在20 µEms的白色荧光光照下，六个µPSCs串并联组合产生了1914 mWm的高功率密度。此外，为了实现阵列策略的实时应用，一个额定值为1.7 V/2 mA的发光二极管（LED）由串并联阵列配置组合供电。结果表明µPSCs利用光合微生物发电用于低功率应用的可靠性。此外，结果表明阵列形式的微光合电池组合是提高µPSCs功率输出的一种强大的优化设计策略。
