Journal of Power Sources, Vol.412, 301-310, 2019
Anomalous power enhancement of biophotovoltaic cell
The photosynthetic activities of cyanobacteria have been employed in various energy related fields such as energy harvesting and water-splitting based energy conversion. However, the output powers obtained from the photo-bioelectrochemical cells have lower efficiency than those from other artificial materials. It is reported in this study that Synechococcus sp.-iron oxide nanoparticles (gamma-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4)- neodymium iron boride magnet complexes enable great energy harvesting performance by both synergistic combination effect of the natural and artificial photocatalysts and formation of an effective electron transfer conduit to the electrode. A green LED bulb is turned on as the result of the energy harvesting. During the light illumination, electrons are transported through the electrode, yielding a peak power density of 0.806 and 0.534 W/m(2) for Synechococcus sp.-gamma-Fe2O3-neodymium iron boride magnet and Synechococcus sp.-Fe3O4- neodymium iron boride magnet complexes, respectively. The difference in the power output arises from the distinct electrochemical interactions among the cell, iron oxide nanoparticles, and NdFeB depending on the type of the nanoparticles. The approach introduced in this study can boost solar energy harvesting remarkably by combining natural photocatalysts with artificial ones.
Keywords:Biophotovoltaics;Cyanobacteria;Photosynthesis;Synechococcus sp.;Bioinorganic hybrid system;Solar energy conversion