Electricity generation from digitally printed cyanobacteria

Marin Sawa, Andrea Fantuzzi, Paolo Bombelli, Christopher J. Howe, Klaus Hellgardt and Peter J. Nixon ()
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Marin Sawa: University of Arts London
Andrea Fantuzzi: Imperial College London, Sir Ernst Chain Building – Wolfson Laboratories, South Kensington Campus
Paolo Bombelli: University of Cambridge
Christopher J. Howe: University of Cambridge
Klaus Hellgardt: Imperial College London, Bone Building, South Kensington Campus
Peter J. Nixon: Imperial College London, Sir Ernst Chain Building – Wolfson Laboratories, South Kensington Campus

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Microbial biophotovoltaic cells exploit the ability of cyanobacteria and microalgae to convert light energy into electrical current using water as the source of electrons. Such bioelectrochemical systems have a clear advantage over more conventional microbial fuel cells which require the input of organic carbon for microbial growth. However, innovative approaches are needed to address scale-up issues associated with the fabrication of the inorganic (electrodes) and biological (microbe) parts of the biophotovoltaic device. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of using a simple commercial inkjet printer to fabricate a thin-film paper-based biophotovoltaic cell consisting of a layer of cyanobacterial cells on top of a carbon nanotube conducting surface. We show that these printed cyanobacteria are capable of generating a sustained electrical current both in the dark (as a ‘solar bio-battery’) and in response to light (as a ‘bio-solar-panel’) with potential applications in low-power devices.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01084-4

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