Electrospinning for building 3D structured photoactive biohybrid electrodes

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Biohybrid electrodes offer promising avenues for energy conversion and sensing applications.
• Indium tin oxide (ITO) is a widely used transparent conductive material, but its surface properties can be modified for enhanced bio-integration.
• Photosystem I and cytochrome c are key components in biological electron transfer processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize novel biohybrid electrodes by combining electrospun 3D ITO with photosystem I and cytochrome c.
• To investigate the impact of co-immobilization of cytochrome c on the photoelectrochemical performance of photosystem I-based electrodes.
• To explore the effect of 3D ITO layer thickness on photocurrent generation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of 3D ITO nanostructures via electrospinning of ITO nanoparticles and polyethylene oxide (PEO), followed by PEO removal through sintering.
• Co-immobilization of photosystem I and cytochrome c onto the 3D ITO scaffold.
• Photoelectrochemical measurements to assess photocurrent generation under varying illumination intensities and electrode thicknesses.

Main Results:

• Electrospun 3D ITO electrodes functionalized with photosystem I showed limited photocurrent.
• Co-immobilization of cytochrome c with photosystem I onto 3D ITO electrodes resulted in well-defined photoelectrochemical signals.
• Increasing the thickness of the 3D ITO layer through longer electrospinning times led to enhanced photocurrents.

Conclusions:

• The developed biohybrid electrodes demonstrate enhanced photoelectrochemical activity through the synergistic effect of photosystem I and cytochrome c on 3D ITO.
• The thickness of the 3D ITO scaffold plays a crucial role in optimizing photocurrent generation.
• These findings highlight the potential of these biohybrid electrodes for applications in renewable energy and biosensing.