Engineering a Robust Photovoltaic Device with Quantum Dots and Bacteriorhodopsin.
Fiche publication
Date publication
juillet 2014
Journal
The journal of physical chemistry. C, Nanomaterials and interfaces
Auteurs
Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr NABIEV Igor
Tous les auteurs :
Renugopalakrishnan V, Barbiellini B, King C, Molinari M, Mochalov K, Sukhanova A, Nabiev I, Fojan P, Tuller HL, Chin M, Somasundaran P, Padrós E, Ramakrishna S
Lien Pubmed
Résumé
We present a route toward a radical improvement in solar cell efficiency using resonant energy transfer and sensitization of semiconductor metal oxides with a light-harvesting quantum dot (QD)/bacteriorhodopsin (bR) layer designed by protein engineering. The specific aims of our approach are (1) controlled engineering of highly ordered bR/QD complexes; (2) replacement of the liquid electrolyte by a thin layer of gold; (3) highly oriented deposition of bR/QD complexes on a gold layer; and (4) use of the Forster resonance energy transfer coupling between bR and QDs to achieve an efficient absorbing layer for dye-sensitized solar cells. This proposed approach is based on the unique optical characteristics of QDs, on the photovoltaic properties of bR, and on state-of-the-art nanobioengineering technologies. It permits spatial and optical coupling together with control of hybrid material components on the bionanoscale. This method paves the way to the development of the solid-state photovoltaic device with the efficiency increased to practical levels.
Référence
J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces. 2014 Jul;118(30):16710-16717