Electron Transfer Through Photosystem I Membrane Proteins With Block Copolymer Interfaces
Open Access
- Author:
- Conte, Emelia E
- Area of Honors:
- Chemical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Manish Kumar, Thesis Supervisor
Scott Thomas Milner, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Block Co-polymer
Photosystem I
Conjugated Oligoelectrolyte
DSSN+
Organic Photovoltaic
Photovoltaic - Abstract:
- Renewable energy, particularly solar energy, has been gaining traction as a more widely used energy source in recent years due to increased world energy usage and decreasing cost of renewable technologies. However, currently manufactured solar devices suffer from low solar conversion efficiency and can be costly to produce, resulting in the emergence of research of bio-photovoltaic and organic solar cells due to their low manufacturing cost. This project aims to develop a photosystem I (PSI)/block co-polymer (BCP) integrated membrane intercalated with conductive oligoelectrolytes that can interface with a conductive electrode for increased solar conversion efficiency and stability compared to current bio-photovoltaics. It is important to develop organic photovoltaic systems with the ability to produce high photocurrents to create a low-cost system capable of producing enough energy to contribute to the world’s need for renewable energies. In this study, PSI-BCP membranes are assembled on an electrode surface and tested for photocurrent production and device longevity. Some of the highest reported photocurrents for similar organic and bio-photovoltaics compared to current literature, up to 35.0 ± 3.5 µA cm-2, were generated from PSI-BCP devices, which showed stable photocurrent generation for at least one month. These findings exhibit that photo-active BCP-protein integrated membrane structures have potential for use in solar energy conversion, as well as for sensing applications for biomedical devices.