Development of biohybrid solar energy conversion systems

Self-assembled membrane architectures have great potential for the development of materials for converting sunlight into electricity or fuels. We report on a biohybrid photoconversion system that incorporates natural photosynthetic proteins with synthetic block copolymers. The interaction of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) copolymers with light harvesting complex II (LHCII) was investigated. LHCII can alter the phase behavior of the block copolymer from micellar to lamellar structures mimicking the role LHCII plays in maintaining the supramolecular architecture of the photosynthetic membrane. This could have implications in self-repair and control of energy transfer in photoconversion devices. We also investigated the role of novel amphiphilic electroactive poly(3-hexylthiophene)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) polymers in LHCII mediated photodependent hydrogen production reactions. Hydrogen production was sustained for >100 hours with a maximum rate of 12.1 μmol H₂/h/mg Chl, a 57.6 fold increase compared to LHCII alone, showing the potential of this approach for developing self-assembled bioinspired photoconversion systems.