Abstract

The harnessing of solar energy to perform complex chemistries sustainably and on a global scale has been mastered by nature over 3 billion years ago with the emergence of photosynthesis. The ability to wire photosynthetic machineries to electrodes for photo-electrochemistry is a relatively new approach for studying photosynthesis. Additionally, this new ability allows us to re-wire photosynthesis and create novel pathways for performing solar-energy conversion.(1, 2) In a recent example, our collaborators wired photosynthetic bacteria to electrodes power a micro-processor for over a year.(3)

In the spirit of fostering new ideas and intra-departmental conversations, my talk will be divided into three parts. First, I will give an overview of efforts in my lab to steal energy and electrons from photosynthesis.(4-6) Second, I will briefly discuss how the platforms being developed in my lab, which aims to modify the bioenergetics of cells, can be applied to research questions beyond renewable energy generation. Lastly, I will highlight some unfilled gaps within my field of research that could benefit from collaborations within the department and other disciplines.

References:

1. J. Z. Zhang, E. Reisner, Advancing photosystem II photoelectrochemistry for semi-artificial photosynthesis. Nature Rev. Chem. 4, 6-21 (2020).

2. N. Kornienko, J. Z. Zhang, K. K. Sakimoto, P. Yang, E. Reisner, Interfacing nature’s catalytic machinery with synthetic materials for semi-artificial photosynthesis. Nat. Nanotechnol. 13, 890-899 (2018).

3. P. Bombelli et al., Powering a microprocessor by photosynthesis. Energy & Environmental Science 15, 2529-2536 (2022).

4. T. Baikie et al., Photosynthesis re-wired on the pico-second timescale. Nature, in press (2023)

5. X. Chen et al., 3D-printed hierarchical pillar array electrodes for high-performance semi-artificial photosynthesis. Nat. Mater. 21, 811-818 (2022).

6. E. R. Clifford et al., Phenazines as model low-midpoint potential electron shuttles for photosynthetic bioelectrochemical systems. Chem. Sci., 3328 – 3338 (2021).