Construction of hybrid solar cells exploiting the interaction of TiO2/Photosystem I complexes

Abstract

Proteins produce chemical energy by absorbing light in the process of photosynthesis. The use of biological photonic system has recently gained interest, especially in the field of solar energy conservation. The applications of photosynthetic components in photovoltaic material and solar cells are very promising due to their environmental compatibility and efficiency of energy conservation in photosynthesis. The recent advancement in the solar cell design includes the use of photosystem, thylakoid membrane immobilised on polymeric electrode. Previous reports have confirmed the use of PSI as photoelectric material in solar cells. The present work studies the integration of TiO₂/PSI complexes with polymer electrodes. Light harvesting complexes (LHC) were isolated from spinach by homogenising cell in lysis buffer. The isolated proteins were then loaded onto DEAE-cellulose a type of ion-exchange chromatography for further purification. TiO₂ layer was then spin coated onto Indium Tin Oxide coated (ITO) plates followed by dipping in a solution containing LHCs for 30 min. Upon drying, using spin coating, a thin layer of Polypyrrole electrode was casted onto it. Optical parameters and structural parameters were determined using UV-Vis analysis and XRD respectively. Efficiencies of the resulting devices were calculated under Air mass 1.5 (AM 1.5) conditions. The results establish the successful preparation of a solar cell.