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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Developing Photosensitizer-Cobaloxime Hybrids for Solar-Driven H2 Production in Aqueous Aerobic Conditions
Published on: October 5, 2019
Semi-biological photosystem: harnessing carbon dots and Geobacter sulfurreducens for solar-driven hydrogenation
Mandy Ching Man Yau1, Shafeer Kalathil1
1Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment, Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle NE1 8ST, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Semi-biological photosynthesis utilizes the unique ability of microbial catalysts together with synthetic photosensitizers (semiconductors) to produce high-value chemicals from sustainable feedstocks. In this work, we devise a semi-biological hybrid system consisting of sustainable photosensitizers, carbon dots in the size range of 5-35 nm (CDs) interfaced with bacteria, Geobacter sulfurreducens, to reduce fumarate to succinate as a model hydrogenation reaction. After 7 days of solar irradiation, using quantitative proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (qNMR), the CD-G. sulfurreducens photosystem produced ∼18 mM of succinate without the need for a redox mediator. Moreover, in reusing the CDs, ∼70% of the succinate (compared to the previous cycle) was recovered. The proposed photobiohybrid system paves a new avenue for sustainable solar-to-chemical conversion in high-value chemical production.
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