Issue 2, 2024

Interfacing poly(p-anisidine) with photosystem I for the fabrication of photoactive composite films

Abstract

Photosystem I (PSI) is an intrinsically photoactive multi-subunit protein that is found in higher order photosynthetic organisms. PSI is a promising candidate for renewable biohybrid energy applications due to its abundance in nature and its high quantum yield. To utilize PSI's light-responsive properties and to overcome its innate electrically insulating nature, the protein can be paired with a biologically compatible conducting polymer that carries charge at appropriate energy levels, allowing excited PSI electrons to travel within a composite network upon light excitation. Here, a substituted aniline, 4-methoxy-aniline (para-anisidine), is chemically oxidized to synthesize poly(p-anisidine) (PPA) and is interfaced with PSI for the fabrication of PSI–PPA composite films by drop casting. The resulting PPA polymer is characterized in terms of its structure, composition, thermal decomposition, spectroscopic response, morphology, and conductivity. Combining PPA with PSI yields composite films that exhibit photocurrent densities on the order of several μA cm−2 when tested with appropriate mediators in a 3-electrode setup. The composite films also display increased photocurrent output when compared to single-component films of the protein or PPA alone to reveal a synergistic combination of the film components. Tuning film thickness and PSI loading within the PSI–PPA films yields optimal photocurrents for the described system, with ∼2 wt% PSI and intermediate film thicknesses generating the highest photocurrents. More broadly, dilute PSI concentrations show significant importance in achieving high photocurrents in PSI–polymer films.

Graphical abstract: Interfacing poly(p-anisidine) with photosystem I for the fabrication of photoactive composite films

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 nov 2023
Accepted
19 dec 2023
First published
22 dec 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Adv., 2024,6, 620-629

Interfacing poly(p-anisidine) with photosystem I for the fabrication of photoactive composite films

M. A. Nabhan, A. V. Cordova-Huaman, D. E. Cliffel and G. K. Jennings, Nanoscale Adv., 2024, 6, 620 DOI: 10.1039/D3NA00977G

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