Departament d' Enginyeria Química, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
Analytical Chemistry - Center for Electrochemical Sciences (CES), Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
Bioelectrochemistry. 2022 Aug;146:108128. doi: 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2022.108128. Epub 2022 Apr 5.
Green microalgae are gaining attention in the renewable energy field due to their ability to convert light into energy in biophotovoltaic (BPV) cells. The poor exogenous electron transfer kinetics of such microorganisms requires the use of redox mediators to improve the performance of related biodevices. Redox polymers are advantageous in the development of subcellular-based BPV devices by providing an improved electron transfer while simultaneously serving as immobilization matrix. However, these surface-confined redox mediators have been rarely used in microorganism-based BPVs. Since electron transfer relies on the proximity between cells and the redox centres at the polymer matrix, the development of molecularly tailored surfaces is of great significance to fabricate more efficient BPV cells. We propose a bioanode integrating Chlorella vulgaris embedded in an Os complex-modified redox polymer. Chlorella vulgaris cells are functionalized with 3-aminophenylboronic acid that exhibits high affinity to saccharides in the cell wall as a basis for an improved integration with the redox polymer. Maximum photocurrents of (5 ± 1) µA cm are achieved. The developed bioanode is further coupled to a bilirubin oxidase-based biocathode for a proof-of-concept BPV cell. The obtained results encourage the optimization of electron-transfer pathways toward the development of advanced microalgae-based biophotovoltaic devices.
由于能够在生物光伏 (BPV) 电池中将光能转化为能量，绿色微藻在可再生能源领域受到关注。这些微生物较差的外源电子转移动力学需要使用氧化还原介体来提高相关生物器件的性能。氧化还原聚合物在基于亚细胞的 BPV 器件的开发中具有优势，因为它们提供了改进的电子转移，同时还可以作为固定化基质。然而，这些表面受限的氧化还原介体在基于微生物的 BPV 中很少使用。由于电子转移依赖于细胞与聚合物基质中氧化还原中心的接近程度，因此开发分子剪裁表面对于制造更高效的 BPV 细胞具有重要意义。我们提出了一种生物阳极，该阳极将嵌入 Os 配合物修饰的氧化还原聚合物中的普通小球藻整合在一起。普通小球藻细胞用 3-氨基苯硼酸进行功能化，该物质对细胞壁中的糖具有高亲和力，这是提高与氧化还原聚合物集成的基础。实现了 (5 ± 1) µA cm 的最大光电流。进一步将开发的生物阳极与基于胆红素氧化酶的生物阴极耦合，以构建概念验证型 BPV 电池。获得的结果鼓励优化电子转移途径，以开发先进的基于微藻的生物光伏器件。
