Photosystem I (PSI), a protein complex found within the thylakoid membrane of green plants and some bacteria, drives nature’s 90-terawatt solar energy conversion process known as photosynthesis. Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is an invasive vine from eastern Asia that grows in the southern United States, spreading at *500 km per year and causing extensive environmental damage. This article reports the...

Photoelectrochemical approach to solar energy conversion demands a kinetic optimization of various light-induced electron transfer processes. Of great importance are the redox mediator systems accomplishing the electron transfer processes at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface, therefore affecting profoundly the performance of various photoelectrochemical cells. Here, we develop a strategy-...

Recently, a flow photoelectrochemical cell has been first developed and applied to assay global antioxidant capacity in our group. Yet, shortcomings of liquid reference electrode such as sample contaminations from the leaking of the reference solution, mechanically fragile, temperature and light sensitivity, etc. are significant restrictions for integration and miniaturization of photoelectroch...

Three-dimensional (3D) structures such as nanowires, nanotubes, and nanorods have the potential to increase surface area, reduce light reflection, and shorten charge carrier transport distances. The assembly of such structures thus holds great promise for enhancing photoelectrochemical solar cell efficiency. In this study, genetically modified Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV1cys) was used to form sel...

A ZnO branched-nanowire (BNW) photoanode was doped with N for use in a photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) to generate H2 from water splitting. First, ZnO BNWs were synthesized by chemical bath deposition method. Two experimental methods were used for N-doping: the time-controlled direct-current glow discharge plasma (DCGDP) and the DC magnetron plasma (DCMP) methods, to optimize N-doping of the NW...

Reduction of graphene oxide [GO] has been achieved by an in-situ photoelectrochemical method in a dye-sensitized solar cell [DSSC] assembly, in which the semiconductor behavior of the reduced graphene oxide [RGO] is controllable. GO and RGO were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscope, and Fourier-transform infrared...

Utilizing plasmonic nanostructures for efficient and flexible conversion of solar energy into electricity or fuel presents a new paradigm in photovoltaics and photoelectrochemistry research. In a conventional photoelectrochemical cell, consisting of a plasmonic structure in contact with a semiconductor, the type of photoelectrochemical reaction is determined by the band bending at the semicondu...

The spectral (both absorption and fluorescence) and photoelectrochemical studies of some anionic xanthene dyes namely erythrosine B, rose bengal and eosin have been carried out in micellar solution of cationic cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), anionic sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and neutral triton X-100 (TX-100). The results show that all these dyes form 1:1 electron-donor-acceptor (ED...