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Updated: Apr 4, 2026

Harvesting Solar Energy by Means of Charge-Separating Nanocrystals and Their Solids
Published on: August 23, 2012
Construction of a Semiconductor-Biological Interface for Solar Energy Conversion: p-Doped Silicon/Photosystem I/Zinc
Jeremiah C Beam1, Gabriel LeBlanc1, Evan A Gizzie1
1Department of Chemistry, ‡Department of Physics and Astronomy, and §Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States.
Abstract:
The interface between photoactive biological materials with two distinct semiconducting electrodes is challenging both to develop and analyze. Building off of our previous work using films of photosystem I (PSI) on p-doped silicon, we have deposited a crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) anode using confined-plume chemical deposition (CPCD). We demonstrate the ability of CPCD to deposit crystalline ZnO without damage to the PSI biomaterial. Using electrochemical techniques, we were able to probe this complex semiconductor-biological interface. Finally, as a proof of concept, a solid-state photovoltaic device consisting of p-doped silicon, PSI, ZnO, and ITO was constructed and evaluated.
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