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Updated: Apr 29, 2026

Developing Photosensitizer-Cobaloxime Hybrids for Solar-Driven H2 Production in Aqueous Aerobic Conditions
Published on: October 5, 2019
A self-assembled Methanosarcina barkeri-NH2-MIL-101(Fe) biohybrid enables efficient photocatalytic CO2-to-CH4
Ziyu Wang1, Wenfu Xie2, Bin Qiu2
1Beijing Key Laboratory for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, College of Environment Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
Abstract:
Semi-artificial photosynthesis offers a promising route for converting CO2 into value-added chemicals. Herein, a novel self-assembled biohybrid of Methanosarcina barkeri and NH2-MIL-101(Fe) enables direct CO2-to-CH4 conversion, achieving a CH4 yield of 563.72 ± 23.75⋅μmol gcat-1 and nearly 100% selectivity. NH2-MIL-101 exhibits high CO2 adsorption without generating H2 as a by-product. The biohybrid showed enhanced light-harvesting, improved electron-hole separation, accelerated interfacial charge transfer, and increased abundance of membrane-bound redox-active mediators. Transcriptomic analysis revealed upregulation of key genes promoting methanogenesis via both hydrogenase- and cytochrome-dependent mechanisms. These findings demonstrate the potential of solar-powered, self-replicating biohybrid systems for efficient CO2-to-CH4 conversion.
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