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Photoelectrochemical complexes for solar energy conversion that chemically and autonomously regenerate

Naturally occurring photosynthetic systems use elaborate pathways of self-repair to limit the impact of photo-damage. Herein, we demonstrate a complex that mimics this process consisting of two recombinant proteins, phospholipids and a carbon nanotube. The components self-assemble into a configurati...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Ham, Moon-Ho, Choi, Jong Hyun, Boghossian, Ardemis A., Jeng, Esther S., Graff, Rachel A., Heller, Daniel A., Chang, Alice C., Mattis, Aidas, Bayburt, Timothy H., Grinkova, Yelena V., Zeiger, Adam S., Van Vliet, Krystyn J., Hobbie, Erik K., Sligar, Stephen G., Wraight, Colin A., Strano, Michael S.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103191/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20966948
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nchem.822
Descripción
Sumario:Naturally occurring photosynthetic systems use elaborate pathways of self-repair to limit the impact of photo-damage. Herein, we demonstrate a complex that mimics this process consisting of two recombinant proteins, phospholipids and a carbon nanotube. The components self-assemble into a configuration in which an array of lipid bilayers aggregate on the surface of the carbon nanotube, creating a platform for the attachment of light-converting proteins. The system can disassemble upon the addition of a surfactant and reassemble on its removal over an indefinite number of cycles. The assembly is thermodynamically meta-stable and can only transition reversibly if the rate of surfactant removal exceeds about 10(−5) sec(−1). Only in the assembled state do the complexes exhibit photoelectrochemical activity. We demonstrate a regeneration cycle that uses surfactant to switch between assembled and disassembled states, resulting in increased photo-conversion efficiency of more than 300% over 168 hours and an indefinite extension of the system's lifetime.